THE 



GENIUS AND MISSION 



METHODISM ; 

EMBRACING 

WHAT IS PECULIAR IN DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, 
MODES OF WORSHIP, ETC. 



BY W. P. STRICKLAND. 



"The organization of Methodism, which, at this time, may vie with 
that of any society that has ever been instituted for the admirable adap- 
tation of the means to the end proposed, was slowly developed, and 
assisted in its progress by accidental circumstances." Southey. 



BOSTON: 

CHARLES H. PEIRCE AND COMPANY. 

185 1. 



^^3\ 



<D« 



Entered according to Act of Congress, tin the year 1851, by 

Chas. H. Peirce Sc Co., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the I istrict of Massachusetts. 



Drew TheoL Bern* 

MN 24 1906 
Boston: Press of G. C. Rand, Cornhill. 



STEREOTYPED BY 

HOBART & ROBBINS, 

New England Type & Stereotype Foundery, 

BOSTON. 



PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 

fbf 

The author of the present volume has conceived that an unculti- 
vated province in our denominational literature invited the labor 
of his mind and pen, in the subject which he has here presented to 
the reading public. 

It has not been the author's intention either to write the history 
of Methodism or to enter into its polemical controversies. This 
work has been performed for the church in the more pretending 
volumes which have already become her literary patrimony. As a 
"hand-book" of Methodism, presenting the providential character 
of its origin and of the institution of its various means for spiritual 
culture and growth, it will find, we trust, a welcome place on the 
shelves of the family library, and in the reading of our people. 

The want of a small portable volume, giving, in a popular form, 
a digest of our views of faith and forms of discipline, has been felt 
by our ministerial brethren. Such a volume, exhibiting, without 
controversy, the peculiarities which give us a distinct existence 
the various tribes of Israel, — the object and importance of 
01 .gious institutions, and a connected view of our ecclesiastical 

jfer —has been considered a desideratum to place in the hands 
o? ig converts, and also for the perusal of maturer members of 

1- .march, who cannot afford the expense or time required for the 
•chase and reading of more voluminous works. 

»7e hope the accompanying dissertation will meet, at least in 
part, this demand. 

The vivacious and pleasing style of the author will win the atten- 
tion of the reader, and retain it to the close of the book. It will be 
seen that he thinks for himself, and shrinks not from the expres- 
sion of his own views, even when they seem to clash with estab- 
lished prejudices or institutions. The candor, however, with which 
the few matters in controversy, referred to in the present volume, 
are treated, will commend the work equally to the respect of those 
who agree or disagree with the sentiments of the author. Truth is 
ever elicited by an amicable collision of antagonistic opinions. 

We heartily commend the little volume to the attention and careful 
perusal of our Christian community, confident that its general cir- 
culation will contribute to a clearer conception of the "office and 
mission of Methodism," and to the growth of piety in individual 
Christians. 



TABLE OP CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Characteristics of Methodism — State of society in "the Augustan 
age of English literature " — Condition of the Anglican Church — 
Oxford — The great leading type of Methodism — The type of the 
Reformation by Luther — Views entertained by the Reformers — 
Commencement of Wesley's mission — His deep devotion — Central 
doctrine of Methodism — What distinguishes Methodism from other 
sects — Doctrine of Christian holiness — Prayer ot Philpot, the mar- 
tyr — Wesley a troubler of Israel — The answer of John to Charles 
Wesley, in regard to ministerial reputation — Fletcher's introduction 
to Methodism — Methodism a child of Providence — Eclecticism — 
Character of her ministry — Secular clergy — Condition of holy 
orders — Importance of exclusive devotion in the ministry — A sev- 
erance from all secular employments desirable — Doctrines and gov- 
ernment of the church divested of all scholastic obscurity, and 
theological or juridical technicality, 9 



CHAPTER II. 

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 

The experience of the founder of Methodism, in regard to bigotry and 
intolerance — The largest liberty given in the discussion of all ques- 
tions pertaining to Methodism — Wesley's address in the First Con- 
ference — His motto — Anecdote illustrative of his conciliatory spi rit 
■ — A Puritan, without his exclusiveness — The great aim of his life — 
His thorough knowledge of the practical workings of the Methodist 
system — No confession of faith required of members — His review 
of the past — The sole condition of admission into the society — A 
striking peculiarity — The great rule of faith and practice — Two 
pillars upon which Methodism rests — Liberty of conscience — The 
element of Puritanism — America an asylum for conscience — Pu- 
ritanical peculiarity in regard to rights of conscience, 27 



CHAPTER III. 

EPISCOPACY. 

Peculiarity of Methodist Episcopacy — Episcopacy not an order — 
Episcopos and Presbuteros — Form of consecration — Episcopacy 
an office — Elective — Imposition of hands confirmatory, not au- 



CONTENTS. 



thoritative — Powers and prerogatives of a Methodist Bishop— Crea- 
ture of the General Conference — Amenability of— Not allowed a 
vote — Duty to decide questions of law and order subject to an ap- 
peal — The right of stationing the preachers vested in the presiding 
Bishop — His appointment of preachers merely confirmatory — 
Wesley never entertained the idea of ordaining a Bishop for the 
American Society — Importuned by Dr. Coke — Prepared a liturgy 
— Never authorized Dr. Coke to organize a Methodist Episcopal 
Church in America — The design of the office of Superintendent — 
No Bishops in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the Roman Cath- 
olic and Protestant Episcopal sense of that term — Government of 
the church a general superintendency, 33 



CHAPTER IV. 

ITINERANCY. 

First preachers of the Gospel itinerants — Wesley shut out of the 
pulpits, and driven to the fields and highways — Travelled from place 
to place — Appointment of assistants, or helpers — Providential 
arrangement — John Nelson, of Bristol — His conversion— Exercises 
— Visited by Wesley — First lay-preachers — Extension of the 
work — Southey's description of itinerant toils and privations — 
Term of the appointments of the preachers fixed — Propriety of 
frequent changes — Wesley's experience — The itinerant system 
important to Methodism — Has attracted the attention of other 
churches — Advantages of a settled pastorate to the ministry, . . 37 



CHAPTER V. 

SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, WIDOWS, AND ORPHANS. 

The testimony of Isaiah — Mission of Christianity — The church 
should take her station at the cross — Her duty in regard to the 
poor and helpless — Example of early Christians — Alt plans of 
benevolence traced to Christianity — Benevolent institutions with- 
out the pale of t he church — Claims of widows and orphans of preach- 
ers — Their relation to the church — Consecration of time, talents, 
and property, to the church — Melancholy picture — Relations 
changed by death — No fancy sketch — Provision made by the 
church for superannuated preachers, widows, and orphans — Meagre 
salaries — Bad policy — Proceeds of the Book Concern and Char- 
tered Fund — General impression of the ability of the Book Concern 
to meet all the claims — In the way of the benevolence of the church 
— Wealthy superannuated preachers — Merchants — Farmers — 
Professional men — Resources of the Book Concern — Cause of bick- 
erings, heart-burnings, and litigations — Men called of God and 
moved by the Holy Ghost to preach the Gospel tied down to worldly 
business — No charge against the church or the Book Concern of 
corruption, or want of honesty or fidelity — The book business 
should be in the hands of the laity — Never will, as at present man- 
aged, yield a support to the indigent preacher, and the widow and 
orphan — A remedy proposed — Scene in the life of a preacher's 



1* 



CONTENTS. 



widow — Annual dividend received — Dialogue between two Metho- 
dists in relation to the. death of a circuit preacher — Widow and 
children at the family altar — God has a controversy with the church 
— The elements of her perpetuity — The intention of the author in 
the above chapter, . . 47 



CHAPTER VI. 

CLASS-MEETINGS, BANDS, LOVE-FEASTS, WATCH-NIGHTS, &C. 

CLASS-MEETINGS. 

Origin of — Adopted in London — Mode of leading — Good effects of 

— Tickets — Spiritual tests — Leaders, under-shepherds — Report 
weekly to pastor — Sick and destitute — Prudential means of grace 

— Not a term of membership in the Wesley an Society — Persons 
"laid aside " for wilful and repeated neglect of — Such recognized 
as members of the church — Regarded in the light of a privilege — 
Advantages of weekly examination — The rule requiring attendance 
a wholesome regulation. 82 



Originated with the Moravians — Wesley connected with them at 
Fetter Lane — Rules of the Bands — Of whom composed — Observ- 
ances required of members, 86 

LOVE-FEASTS. 

Wesley's first visit to among the Moravians —Among the most interest- 
ing and popular meetings held by the church — The quarterly occur- 
rence hailed with delight — Bread and water emblems of brotherly 
love — Exercises — Closed at specified time — Means of keeping up 
a social intercourse — Want of such meetings felt by other churches 

— Social meetings held by the pastor of an eastern church — Reli- 
gious soiree, 87 

WATCH-NIGHTS. 

Zeal and eloquence of Whitefield — Colliers of Kingswood — Condition 
of before their conversion — Spent every Saturday night at the ale- 
house — Bacchanalian orgies — Allusion to in one of Wesley's hymns 

— Watch-nights appointed in the stead of these ale-house gatherings 

— Subsequently introduced into all the societies — Their observance 
in this country — Exercises — Happy results of, S9 

mourner's or penitent's bench. 

The practice of inviting to a peculiarity of Methodism— The propri- 
ety of the usage — Sinners converted by the ordinary means — Use- 
ful in bringing the sinner to a decision — The philosophy of the plan 
unquestionable — "Anxious seats " and " Conference meetings" of 
other churches — " Moral machinery " — " New measures," " wild- 
fire," " fanaticism " — Reasoning of the young man whose eyes 
were opened — Excesses not approved of— Improper judgment, . 91 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 

Methodism allows the greatest liberty in — Providential circumstances 

— Wesley's attachment to the liturgy— Methodist peculiarity, . 95 

SACRAMENTS. 

No change in regard to the subjects or conditions of baptism and the 
Lord's supper"— Only change in mode — Baptism of infants — Bap- 
tismal regeneration — Outward sign — Form used in consecration 
of the elements of the Eucharist — All evangelical Christians invited 

— Posture or place not essential — All members bound to observe — 
Does not confer grace — A medium of grace — Unleavened bread — 
Unadulterated wine, 96 



Wesley at first used the forms in the Book of Common Prayer — Led to 
change his mind — Adopted extempore prayer — Its usefulness, . 98 

PREACHING. 

The universal practice among churchmen and dissenters — Extempore 
preaching — Reasons which led to its adoption — The great end of 
all preaching — Advantages of extempore preaching — Extempore 
preaching defined — Thinking with the pen — Memoriter preach- 
ing, 100 



Directions given by Wesley to all his societies in relation to — Wesley 
passionately fond of church music — His labors in this department 

— A connoisseur as well as amateur — Horror of fugue tunes and an- 
thems — Complex tunes — His visit to Chester — Isle of Man — 
Fine singing — Bookseller's hymn-book — Revised by Wesley — 
Hymns left oul — ,; Double-distilled doggerel " — Addition of others 

— Practice of lining out the hymn not peculiar to Methodism — 
Reasons for its adoption in Wesley's day — Choirs and organs al- 
ways connected with Methodism — Objection to clarinets, flutes, 
and fiddles — Anecdote of a violinist — The importance of good 
church music — An amusing incident — Methodist rules require 
the cultivation of the science — Our admirable hymn-book — Sing- 
ing societies — Contributions to church music, 102 

SITTING IN CHURCH. 

Conversations with Wesley and his preachers in regard to building of 
houses and worship therein — Octagonal form of house — Sitting 
apart of men and women — Seats without backs — May sit together 
in galleries — Strong reasons against promiscuous sitting— Sug- 
gested by the times, and iastes, and habits, of the people — No dis- 
order in churches where families sit together — Pew system adopted 
in self-defence, by those who had no sympathy for it — Found to 



CONTENTS. 



work admirably — Other denominations abandoning the pew system 

— Families sit together — Argumentum ad captandum vulgus — All 
invited — The masses most successfully reached — The w rich and 
poor on an equality — Wesley changed his mind in regard to sitting 

— His own church, City Road Chapel, pewed — Dr. Bascom's ques- 
tion to Dr. Newton on this subject — His answer — The answer of 
Dr. Dixon to a similar question — Custom extensively adopted in 
this country — Injustice of refusing to grant the right to congrega- 
tions in regard to manner of sitting — The cant of " aristocracy " — 
Mission of Methodism — Her chief glory — Wesley's definition of 
the sum and substance of all religion — Bigotry and intolerance have 
driven many pious people from the church— Primitive Methodism 

— Sentiment of Augustin. 110 



CHAPTER VIII. 

MISSION OF METHODISM. 

Methodism aggressive in its character — Her mission not fully appre- 
ciated — Wesley's labors — His zeal for the church — Providential 
indications — The extension of his field — True mission of Christi- 
anity — Attention of Methodism directed to the " common people " 

— Kingswood school — Ragged schools — Early establishment of 
Sunday-schools — Unpaid teachers — Poorest admitted, without fee, 
to all the ordinances of the church, and services of the ministry — 
Wants of the poor relieved by special provision — Towns and cities 
divided into districts — Wesley's rule for all the members — His 
active benevolence — King's Commissioners — The clergy of the 
Establishment enraged —"Rev. Sydney Smith — His articles on 
Methodism — Their scurrilous nature — Charges against Methodism 

— Plea thereto — Suggestions for the suppression of Methodist fa- 
naticism — Its alarming increase and influence — A remedy recom- 
mended — Spirit of Methodist preachers — Methodism in America 

— Operations of the Methodist Episcopal Church — Dr. Coke — 
Ceylon — Continental India — China and Indo-Chinese countries — 
British North America — South Africa — The South Seas — Medi- 
terranean — Europe — Methodism sends nearly two thirds of all the 
missionaries — Contributes half a million of dollars annually — Vi ^or 
of her operations — Resources of not fully developed — Adaptation 
of her genius to carry abroad the Gospel — Plan of missionary oper- 
ations — Condition of the heathen world at the commencement of 
her operations — Present condition — Paganism — Mahometanism 

— Romanism — Anathemas of the Pope — Duty of the Christian 
soldier — Promises to the church — Principle of action — Bonaparte 

— Hero of Mexico — An incorruptible crown — Courage and perse- 
verance — Downfall of Mahometanism and Popery in 1566 — Pro- 
gressive movements of the age — Christian enterprise — The mis- 
sion of Methodism— Glorious results, 122 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



See how great a flame aspires, 

Kindled by a spark of grace. — C. Wesley. 

In the genius and destiny of Methodism, dis- 
tinguishing characteristics are visible. From her 
birth, through all the stages of her existence, 
whether her doctrines, polity, or modes of worship 
are considered, the clear, bold outlines of her 
honest features will be readily discerned, even 
by the most prejudiced observer. In this respect, 
she possesses a transparency of character, which, 
whether attractive or repulsive, beautiful or 
deformed, to the eye of the beholder, is divested 
of all secretiveness and obscurity, — " seen and 
known of all men." 

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century, 
denominated the "Augustan age of English liter- 
ature," but unquestionably the most irreligious 
that has ever occurred in England since the com- 
pletion of the Reformation under the reign of 
Elizabeth, Methodism took its rise. 

The higher and more influential classes of 



10 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

society were poisoned by the infidel writings of 
Hobbes, Toland, Blount, Collins, Mandeville, 
Shaftesbury, Tindal, Morgan, Woolston, Chubb, 
and Bolingbroke, while Christianity, regarded in 
the light of an ancient and exploded myth, offi- 
ciously interfering with the appetites and passions 
of men, was held up to public scorn and reproba- 
tion. With such examples, from persons of 
learning, rank, and fashion, who sneered at relig- 
ion in all places, and abandoned themselves to 
universal profligacy, it was not to be wondered 
that the lower classes wallowed in wickedness 
and revelled in crime. In regard to religion and 
public morals, the English nation was hovering 
over the brink of a frightful chasm, which threat- 
ened to engulf it forever. 

As a consequence of such abounding iniquity, 
the love and zeal of the Christian church waned 
almost to extinction, and her ministry became 
powerless. The purest, stoutest hearts quaked 
for fear, and all hope would have been abandoned, 
had not the promise of God remained as a security 
against the destruction of the church, and her 
history borne testimony to her safe passage 
through darker and more troublous periods. In 
the midst of the greatest corruption and darkness, 
during the successive eras of Christianity, " a 
chosen seed," as an indestructible germ, has 
always existed, and, under the Providence of God, 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

has proved a check upon the wild luxuriance of 
sin, and formed a basis of reformation. The 
dens and caves of the mountains of Judea, the 
catacombs of pagan Rome, the fastnesses of the 
Alps, the cells of Erfurd, the retreats of Geneva, 
and the halls of Oxford, were the sacred deposi- 
tories of this seed. 

When the pure doctrines of the Anglican 
church were obscured by " vain traditions," and 
perverted by " false philosophy,'' and the hedges 
of her discipline were broken down and trodden 
in the dust, and error and immorality stalked 
rampant abroad, God was preparing the way for 
the erection of a standard against the enemy. 
The hearts of four devoted students, of high 
classical attainments, at Oxford, were receiving a 
spiritual baptism for the great work of reform. 
Their deep devotion to God, fasting, prayer, read- 
ing the Scriptures, and visiting the sick and 
imprisoned, brought upon them — what was de- 
signed by the authors as odious appellatives — the 
name of "Methodists," or "Holy Club." 

The flashing eloquence of a Whitefield, w T hich 
enraptured thousands stood entranced to feel in 
the highways and thoroughfares of England, and 
on our own continent, was caught and kindled 
there. Of that " Holy Club," the Wesleys were 
chief members. Having, by the Holy Spirit and 
the teachings of the Word, been led up through 



12 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the dull, cold forms of the established religion, to 
the possession of the soul -renewing and sanctify- 
ing power of the Gospel, they were prepared to 
breast the scorn of the world. Led by an unseen 
hand, sustained and encouraged by an invisible 
power, John Wesley left the halls of his alma 
mater, and, with " the world for his parish," and 
"souls for his hire," gave utterance to those 
wonderful emotions which were welling up from 
the depths of his regenerated heart. 

The great leading type of Methodism, as 
exhibited in the life and doctrines of its founder, 
was yet to be developed. Not at first did it 
reveal itself clearly to his own vision. His eyes 
were opened. He saw, by reading the Bible, the 
doctrines of inward and outward holiness ; but an 
indistinctness of sight threw a haze over this doc- 
trine of the "full assurance of faith." Nor until, 
like the eloquent Apollos, of New Testament 
memory, he was more fully instructed by " them 
of Moravia" did the light, beauty and power, of 
the full-orbed spiritual life, stand out confessed. 

The positive assertion, annunciatory of " peace 
with God," and a " love shed abroad in the heart 
by the Holy Spirit," all-absorbing and all-control- 
ling, was as contrary to the doctrines, as it was 
contradictory to the experience, of the church to 
which he belonged. When we say contrary to 
the doctrines, we do not wish to intimate that the 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

great type of the Reformation, heralded by- 
Luther, namely, "justification by faith," was 
wholly lost sight of, but that a consciousness of 
pardoning love, pervading the entire soul of the 
believer, and an attestation, by a direct witness of 
the Holy Spirit, of an adoption into the family of 
God by regeneration, was neither fully believed 
nor clearly taught. 3 * Such a profession of experi- 
mental religion, at that time, would at once have 
involved its author in a charge of the wildest 
fanaticism. A path had been marked out for 
him in the providence of God, hitherto to him 
untrodden and unknown. To pursue this path, 
he had at the first instance an almost unconquer- 
able aversion. Necessity, however, was laid 
upon him, and the mission upon which he was 
called to enter was not left to his own election, 
while through every department of it, as field 
after field presented themselves successively 

* There had been a host of writers in his own church who 
had laid great stress on the necessity of inward and outward 
holiness. Dr. Henry More, Jeremy Taylor, Dr. John Smith, 
John Norris, Archbishop Tillotson, and others, had exposed 
the Antinomian heresy, pointed out the sanctifying influence 
of divine truth on the mind, and the obligations to obedience 
which the Gospel imposes ; but they had not only omitted the 
consideration of the doctrine of justification regarded practi- 
cally, but had written against it or explained it away. Among 
the Reformers, while justification by faith was clearly stated, 
yet the power of the statement was greatly weakened by other 
coincident statements. 

2 



14 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

before him, a wonderful Providence directed his 
steps and cleared his way. 

A mind less stored with varied learning, less 
thoroughly disciplined, and a heart less cultivated 
with grace, would have been inadequate to the 
task imposed upon him. Filled with love to God 
and all mankind, he taught the little flock who 
came to him in London, " earnestly desiring to 
flee the wrath to come, and be saved from their 
sins," the way of salvation. 

From this period, his labors in the mission 
assigned him commenced, and, following the indi- 
cations of that Providence which had so strangely 
thrust him out, he entered every door of useful- 
ness to which he could gain access. When, from 
the fervor of his preaching, and the pure, search- 
ing, soul-convincing, and heart-renewing nature 
of his doctrines, and his strict method of life, he 
was forbidden* access to the pulpits of his native 
place, and the doors of his mother church were 
barred against him, he fled to the highways and 
fields, to the cemeteries and mines, while troop- 
ing thousands, to whom the words of life never 
came before, were charmed by the Gospel's sound, 
and, embracing the cross, were snatched as brands 
from the all-consuming fires of sin. 

Spiritual helpers were raised up from the con- 
verted, and, under his special guidance and care, 
instructed the rapidly increasing flock in the 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

ways of the Lord. It was not the formation of a 
separate church, nor the vain-glorious ambition 
of being the founder of a new sect, that gave 
birth to his plans, or prompted his action. To 
reform his father's house, and infuse a spiritual 
life into its members, — in other words, "to raise 
np a sanctified people" and " spread scriptural 
holiness over the lands" was the one prominent, 
specific idea which engrossed his mind and heart, 
and urged him on to the most unexampled indus- 
try, activity, and zeal, in its accomplishment. 

To this he consecrated all his powers, and for 
it he lived, labored, and died. The doctrine of 
entire deliverance from sin in this life, in oppo- 
sition to the almost universal belief of a death or 
after prison purgatory, constituted then, as it does 
unfortunately to a great extent at the present 
day, the antagonism of a large majority of the 
churches of Christendom. That justification by 
faith and the synchronical work of regeneration, 
by which the entire soul is renewed in the image 
of God, and made partaker of the divine nature, 
should be restored to the church and become the 
ever-abiding experience of its members, was the 
one great object at which he aimed. 

This, we repeat it, was the one idea of Metho- 
dism, affording, as it did, the only reason for her 
separate existence, and must forever remain the 
great central doctrine, around which everything 



16 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

pertaining to her spiritual and temporal economy- 
must revolve. Whenever the church shall swing 
off from this centre, her vitality is gone forever ; 
decay and dissolution will ensue, and the scat- 
tered fragments of her once beautiful temple will 
excite the sympathy of the spirit of Christianity, 
and bring down the unmitigated scorn and con- 
tempt of the whole infidel world. Abandoning 
this doctrine, and losing the experience of full, 
complete salvation from sin and its concomitant 
blessings, what, we ask, would be left to distin- 
guish Methodism, in doctrine, from other Christian 
churches ? Nothing but the name, and that 
would be a libel on the profession. Do we be- 
lieve in the being and perfections of God? So 
do they. Do we believe in the fall and subse- 
quent depravity of man, and the necessity of his 
conversion ? So do they. Do we believe in the 
essential divinity of the three persons in the God- 
head ? So do they. Do we believe in justifica- 
tion by faith, regeneration, and adoption ? So 
do they. Do we receive the Scriptures as an 
inspiration from God ? So do they. Do we ob- 
serve the holy sacraments? So do they. Do 
we preach the Gospel, and offer life and salvation 
to all ? So do they, with the only difference, 
perhaps, that we urge with more emphasis the 
doctrine of an unlimited atonement. Do we be- 
lieve it our duty to send this Gospel to every 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

creature in the world ? So do they, and many 
of them have given a clearer demonstration of 
their faitk. Finally. Do we believe in a gen- 
eral resurrection, future general judgment, ever- 
lasting rewards in heaven, and everlasting pun- 
ishments in hell ? So do they. And what more ? 
It is vastly more difficult to detect the difference 
than to enumerate the points on which we agree. 
U there be any difference vital to Christianity, and 
worth a moment's thought, it is what we have 
already stated. We reiterate it, then. The dis- 
tinguishing difference between Methodists and 
the vast majority of other sects, is their belief in 
the attainableness in this life of entire holiness of 
heart, which others declare an impossibility, and 
oppose to it, as they suppose, the teachings of the 
Bible and the experience of the entire world. ^ 

Compared with this glorious feature of our 
church, every other thing that makes us peculiar 

* That pious man and steadfast martyr, John Philpot, 
said : — " Who knoweth not our flesh, as long as it is in this 
corruptihle life, to be a lump of sin ? " And in a prayer to be 
said at the stake, by all those whom God shall count worthy 
to suffer for his sake, we have the following : — "And depart 
forth of this miserable world, where I do nothing bat daily 
heap sin upon sin. :5 Though such a belief might not have 
been prejudicial to the spiritual state of the mart}*r, yet those 
who loved indulgence would consider that a " w T holesome 
doctrine, and very full of comfort," which would make the 
daily commission of sin compatible with a Christian profes- 
sion. 

2* 



18 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

sinks into absolute nothingness, because they 
could be dispensed with, and in all the drapery 
of Christianity there would be no retit, spot, or 
wrinkle. With this living embodiment of all 
that is " lovely, pure, and true," a healthy organ- 
ism will ever be secured. Defects in the system 
may exist, — and who claims for it perfection ? — but, 
true to her idiosyncrasies, time will remove them. 
A high or low-toned episcopacy ; the existence or 
non-existence of ofnces and agencies not pre- 
scribed in the word of God ; modes of dress, or 
forms and manner of church worship, and every 
other non-essential — because not divinely au- 
thorized — r matter, that circumstances may dic- 
tate, or the times demand, should not weigh a 
single feather when brought into comparison with 
the great fundamental of our faith, entire holiness 
of heart and consecration to God. 

It was not strange, when the prevailing char- 
acteristic of the church was marked by a lati- 
tudinarianism, manifesting itself by a love of 
ease and sinful indulgence, that the burning dis- 
courses of Wesley, and the severe purity of his 
doctrines and manner of life, should provoke the 
charge of his being a " troubler of Israel," and 
that he should be branded with the epithets of 
" self-righteousness," and " phariseeism," while 
all persons of his day, who were suspected of 
tenderness of conscience, or a decent regard for 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

the requirements of religion, should be styled 
" Methodists" by way of derision. Having been 
made free,*by the Son of God, from the thraldom 
of sin, and the equally grievous yoke of conform- 
ity to the world, with all its heartlessness and 
vanity, he tarried not for the approbation of con- 
vocations on the one hand, or conventicles on the 
other. He suffered not his mind to be diverted 
by questions of church order, conventional eti- 
quette, or propriety, w T here he w T ell knew the 
world was judge ; but, casting himself and all his 
interests upon the Lord, he moved on, with a 
quenchless zeal and untiring industry, in the one 
great work of saving souls. 

His brother Charles, less bold and ardent in 
his Master's cause, thinking, perhaps, that his 
zeal, which led him to preach Christ in the high- 
ways and hedges, and subjected him to all the 
indignities of mobs, might be somewhat over- 
strained, cautioned him in relation to a more 
prudent regard for his reputation. The answer 
of John, while it was characteristic of the man, 
revealed the true secret of his success, as w T ell as 
the true power of every faithful minister, namely, 
a perfect and unreserved personal consecration to 
Christ and his cause. " Charles," said he, " when 
I gave myself to Christ, did I reserve my reputa- 
tion?" That short sentence speaks volumes. 
It speaks an independent fearlessness, that never 



20 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

was known to quail at difficulties, or shrink from 
the most appalling dangers. The strength of 
Christ, we may add, was infused into that soul, 
and no agency had potency enough to move it, 
nor could any obstacles, however to human view 
insurmountable, stagger its faith. The soul thus 
consecrated has found a resting-place, secure and 
firm in its foundations as the everlasting throne 
of God, and from which, with the lever of irre- 
sistible truth, it can move the world. 

Brought, as he was, into contact with the vari- 
ous pious dissenters of his day, and drawing 
around him, as he did, from all parts of the coun- 
try, those of " like precious faith " in the inter- 
communion of Christian experience and fellow- 
ship, added to his deep devotion in the study of 
the Scriptures, and his extensive acquaintance 
with biblical and ecclesiastical literature, he was 
enabled to construct a formula of doctrines and 
discipline, possessing a unity and consistency 
which have stood the test of a century, and afford 
promise of living through all time. * 

* Many were made acquainted with Methodism by the pe- 
culiarities which distinguished it from other forms of Chris- 
tianity ; and as there were those who would have considered it 
a disgrace to have attended a " Methodist meeting," all they 
could know concerning the doctrines and modes of worship of 
this sect was by rumor. It was thus that the heavenly-minded 
Fletcher became acquainted with the Methodists. He was 
tutor in the family of Mr. Hill, who, on going to London 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

Methodism has ever been regarded, by its found- 
er and followers, as a child of Providence, from 
its very birth and name ; and hence, while there 
is no provision left in her constitution for a 
change in any of the articles of faith, yet what is 
prudential, as pertaining to her economy, under 
certain limitations and restrictions, as providen- 
tial circumstances may indicate, may be modified 
to suit the progressive movements of Christianity 
in her onward march, to the conquest of the world. 
Being a child of Providence, both as it regarded 
the religious experience of its founder and the 
direction given to his movements, she would, of 
course, impressed with such an idea, stop not to 
inquire after conformity to the old, time-encrusted, 
dogmas of ecclesiastical authority, while, at the 
same time, she would not ruthlessly cast aside 

to attend parliament, took his family and that gentleman 
with him. While the carriage stopped at St. Albans, Mr. 
F. walked out into town, and did not return until the family- 
had left. A horse being left for him, he overtook them in 
the evening. On Mr. Hill's asking him why he stayed 
behind, he replied, "As I was walking, I met with a poor 
old woman, who talked to me so sweetly about Jesus, that I 
forgot myself." il Ah," said Mrs. Hill, " I shall not wonder 
if our tutor turns Methodist." "Methodist, madam!" said 
he; "what is that?" "Why," she replied, "they area 
people that do nothing but pray ; they are praying all day and 
all night." " Are they? " said he ; " then, by the help of God, 
I will find them out, if they be above ground." He did find 
them soon after, and was admitted into their society. 



22 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

whatever was scriptural and valuable in the 
churches around her. She assumed in doctrines, 
morals, and institutions, what might be denom- 
inated an eclecticism, in which all essential good 
was retained, and the worthless cast away. While 
she rejected the high-toned Calvinism of the 17th 
article of the Established Church, and baptismal 
regeneration, together with the papistical tenden- 
cies of the liturgy and the high assumptions of 
prelatical authority and apostolical succession, at 
the same time she retained all that was essential 
to a sound creed and a salutary government. 
While she was careful not to burden herself with 
numerous articles of faith, and a complex, cum- 
brous machinery of government, she adopted the 
simplest basis and forms, and bent all her ener- 
gies to the use of those means of grace, whether 
instituted or prudential, which would beget and 
sustain a high spiritual life. Believing that the 
kingdom of God did not consist in meats and 
drinks, in feasts, fasts, festivals, and external 
washings, but in holiness, peace, and joy, she 
addressed herself to the one great work of im- 
proving the soul in grace and knowledge. 

We repeat it, if any one thing gives to Meth- 
odism a distinguishing peculiarity, it consists in 
the overlooking and abhorrence of cold, dead 
forms, and a grasping after the "power of god- 
liness" — a " hungering and thirsting after right- 



INTRODUCTION. 



eousness," unsatisfied with everything but its 
attainment, in all its fulness and power. This 
sentiment gave a tone and coloring to every part 
of the system ; and hence, in carrying on the 
building of this spiritual temple, workmen of the 
right stamp were needed, — men better skilled in 
the Bible than scholastic divinity, — of deeper 
experience in things pertaining to the inner, spir- 
itual life, than metaphysics and the arts of rhet- 
oric and logic. In the selection of her ministry, 
the right of the church to call men to this holy 
office, the bestowment of livings for the settle- 
ment of a priesthood, which might or might not, 
as indigence or affluence might dictate, attend to 
the cure of souls, were stoutly denied, as incom- 
patible with the teachings and prerogatives of 
Christ, who alone has the right to call and qual- 
ify laborers for the work. She recognized only 
such, as ministers of Christ, who were thus called, 
and who, in obedience thereto, gave themselves 
wholly to the work, regarding a secular ministry 
as a deadly incubus upon the spirituality of the 
church. Separating the ministry from all secu- 
lar employments, it left the dead to bury the 
dead, tax-gatherers to take their seats at custom- 
houses, bankers to negotiate their exchanges, phy- 
sicians to look after their patients, lawyers to 
hunt after clients and look up their cases, poli- 
ticians to 'wrangle for offices, merchants, mechan- 



24 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

ics and farmers, to attend to their respective avo- 
cations ; but she met, at the very threshold, the 
candidate for holy orders, with the soul-searching 
and startling question, "Are you determined to 
devote yourself wholly \ in the employment of all 
your time in the work of the ministry ? " — leav- 
ing no room whatever for any secular engagement 
not immediately connected with the salvation of 
souls. 

How far the church may have lost this promi- 
nent apostolical characteristic, it is not perhaps our 
province now to inquire. Relevant, or not, we 
hazard the suggestion, however, that just so far as 
any church departs from the doctrine of exclusive 
devotion in her ministry, and burdens herself 
with a secular clergy, does her regular ministry 
lose its influence and spiritual power in the 
specific work to which it has been called of 
God. To drag the holy office of the ministry 
into the secular employments of life, however 
useful or honorable they may be, is an alliance 
contrary to the precepts of Christ ; and to come 
up from the busy scenes of life, with head, heart 
and hands, full of the strifes, anxieties, and cares 
of the world, and enter the holy place to declare 
the words of life and salvation, and urge an im- 
possibility of a union between God and mammon, 
Christ and Belial, the friendship of the world and 
the love of God, is an inconsistency, beyond ex- 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

pression, unparalleled. God requires impossi- 
bilities of no man; and, if want of support, 
sickness, or any other cause, should oblige the 
minister to leave the work of God and serve 
tables, the very fact would be one of the strong- 
est indications of Providence that his mission, at 
that particular time, or in that particular locality, 
was at an end. The purity, power, and conse- 
quent influence of Methodism, must forever de- 
pend upon the exclusive devotion of her ministry. 
Such a ministry, embracing the world as its field, 
filled with the love of God, groaning with the 
mountain-pressure of perishing souls, urged on 
by the tremendous, eternity -fraught responsibili- 
ties connected with its vocation, would tell with 
incalculable power upon the destiny of millions; 
and we would most devoutly pray Almighty God, 
that the time may soon come when there shall be 
an utter and everlasting severance of the minis- 
try from all the entanglements of the world, with- 
out the least exception whatever in reference to 
any of its departments of labor. The church 
must go halting all her days, until that period 
arrive. Till then, and not till then, will she 
" arise, shine, put on her strength and beautiful 
garments," while " her righteousness shall go 
forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp 
that burnetii." 

We have no disposition at present, nor is it 
3 



26 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

necessary in this connection, to enter into any 
discussion in relation to the soundness of the doc- 
trines, or the righteousness of the government, of 
the church. These are open to the investigation 
of all, and so thoroughly divested of all scho- 
lastic obscurity, and theological or juridical tech- 
nicality, that a child may understand them. 



CHAPTER II. 

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath 
made us free. — Gal. v. 1. 

The founder of Methodism had tasted by bitter 
experience the fruits of bigotry and intolerance, 
and having, by a wonderful Providence, been 
made free, he was resolved that the rights of 
conscience should be forever secured to all his 
followers, and the largest Christian liberty enjoyed 
in all matters of doctrine and polity, as well as 
modes of worship. To secure this, the most free 
and unbounded limits were given, in all his Con- 
ferences, from first to last, on all questions per- 
taining to the society, whether they involved 
principles or practice. At the first Conference, 
he rose, in the presence of his " advisers " and 
" helpers," and exhorted them to the fullest and 
freest discussion of every question, that all things 
pertaining to faith and practice might be thor- 
oughly debated and settled. Conscious of having 
a single eye to the glory of God, he not only did 
not fear, but he earnestly courted the most pro- 
found investigation, and instead of being so wed- 



28 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

ded to an opinion or principle which might have 
originated with him, and which he might be 
supposed to cherish and guard as sacred and 
unquestionable, he brought before his associates 
all his plans, with all the thoughts and feelings 
of his heart, and presented them for investigation, 
adding, — " If true, they will bear the strictest 
examination, and if not true, the sooner they are 
overturned the better." The motto which always 
governed him, in this respect, was, "Prove all 
things, hold fast that which is good." So far 
from assuming a dogmatical spirit, or a disposition 
to " lord it over God's heritage," he was kind and 
conciliatory to the most humble of his assistants 
or followers. A single anecdote will illustrate 
this point. On a certain occasion, he said to one 
of his preachers, " I wish you to take these letters 
to the office, as it is important they should be 
mailed soon." " I can't go," said the preacher ; 
" I wish to stay and hear preaching.' Wesley 
insisted; but the young preacher would not listen 
to his importunities, until finally he told the young 
man " they must part." " Very well," said the 
preacher; and they separated. Next morning 
Wesley sent for him, and on his entering into his 
presence, said, " Have you considered the impro- 
priety of your conduct, and are you willing to 
ask my pardon ? " The young man was stub- 
born, and uttered not a word. " Then," said the 



ELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 29 

venerable man, " I will ask your pardon." If at 
any time there was an apparent harshness in his 
manner, it was only as the rippling of a surface, 
which in a moment would be clear and calm 
again. 

He was a Puritan, in every sense of the word, 
without Puritanic exclusiveness ; and no man ever 
lived who held the rights of conscience in a more 
sacred regard. To enjoy the utmost spiritual 
religious freedom himself, and to perpetuate it in 
the Methodist community throughout the old 
and new world, was the great end and aim of his 
life. 

After the lapse of half a century, during which 
time he had seen his society increase from a feeble 
few to many thousands, and had the most thor- 
ough knowledge of the practical workings of a 
system which had been successively evolved in 
all its parts by the indications of Providence, he 
was more than ever satisfied with the principle 
on which he started, to allow the widest scope to 
freedom of thought and opinion, as well as to the 
modes of worship. In the language of Southey, 
" No confession of faith was required from any 
person who desired to become a member of the 
society ; and in this Wesley displayed consum- 
mate prudence." 

Calmly reviewing the past as one who, after 
the toils and hardships of a long and perilous 
3* 



30 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

journey, sits down to reminiscences of his weary 
way, — so he, as a faithful leader, after the pas- 
sage of the wilderness, from the Nebo or Jordan 
of his resting-place, reviews the past, and, more 
than ever satisfied with his course, exclaims to 
the assembled hundreds who gather around him 
in council, " There is no other religious society 
under heaven which requires nothing of men, in 
order to their admission into it, but a desire to 
save their souls. Look all around you ! You 
cannot be admitted into The Church, or the society 
of the Presbyterians, or Baptists, or Quakers, or 
any other, unless you hold the same opinions 
with them, and adhere to the same mode of wor- 
ship. The Methodists alone do not insist on 
your holding this or that opinion ; but they think 
and let think. Neither do they impose any par- 
ticular mode ofivorship; but you may continue to 
worship in your former manner, he it what it may. 
Now, I do not know any other religious society, 
either ancient or modern, wherein such liberty of 
conscience is allowed, or has been allowed, since 
the days of the Apostles. Here is our glorying, 
and a glorying peculiar to us." — " Blessed be 
God," he adds, " we still enjoy this liberty, and 
even with increase." 

Thus it will be seen, that not only w^as the 
widest latitude given to meet the various opin- 
ions, prejudices, and predilections of men, but the 
society accommodated itself in the allowance of 



RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 31 

this liberty to all who took the Bible as the great 
rule of faith and practice, and gave continuous 
evidence of their desire to save their souls, by the 
use of the various means of grace which it incul- 
cates. 

We remarked, in the beginning, that religious 
liberty was a distinguishing feature of Wesley- 
anism. The frank and fearless statements of its 
founder show it to be more than a peculiarity, 
— the very crown and glory of the system. The 
two great essential elements of the system, or 
rather the two pillars whose bases rested on the 
eternal rock of Truth, namely, holiness of heart 
and life and liberty of conscience , constitute the 
very essence of Methodism. When we speak of 
liberty of conscience, we would not be understood 
as conveying the idea that other evangelical sects 
do not enjoy this great and glorious boon. The 
very fact of the existence of such denominations 
demonstrates its possession. But the liberty of 
conscience we speak of is not the privilege of 
ioining what church we please, by subscribing to 
the creed, but the liberty of joining a church in 
the exercise of the fullest rights to freedom of 
opinion and modes of worship, where discipline 
shall not reach us, nor the ban of excommunica- 
tion fall on us, "for conscience 1 sake." And, as 
Wesley says, "Where else is such liberty of con- 
science allowed ? " This was also the great ele- 
ment of Puritanism, and to find and found an 



32 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

asylum where conscience should be the supreme 
dictator, they sought the wilds of this continent, 
and reared upon these shores the institutions of 
religion, learning, and civil government, where 
freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and 
freedom of the press, should forever exist as the ' 
inalienable rights of man. In the purchase of 
this rich inheritance, the muse has embalmed 
their heroic deeds. 

" Ay, call it holy ground. 

The land where first they trod ; 
They left unstained, what here they found, 
Freedom to worship God. 15 

But the Puritans, with all their enlarged views, 
manly independence, and zeal for the rights of 
conscience, were careful to require a full belief in 
all their doctrines, forms of government, and mode 
of Worship, while, at the same time, their regard 
for orthodoxy was such as in several melancholy 
instances to lead them to cruel persecutions of 
those who differed from them in opinion; and 
though they allowed every man to worship God 
according to the dictates of conscience, they were 
wonderfully careful to have that conscience dic- 
tate a worship conformable to their own.* 

* The wonder is not, that, with their views in regard to the 
sacred rights of conscience, they suffered their feelings to run 
away with their judgments, in occasional outhreaks of perse- 
cution ; but the wonder is, that, coming as they did from the 
land of ecclesiastical tyranny and oppression, they manifested 
so much of that spirit of liberty which characterized them. 



CHAPTER III. 

EPISCOPACY. 

Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock 
over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. — Acts 
xx. 23. 

It may be asked, on looking at the caption of 
this chapter, Is there anything in Methodist Epis- 
copacy peculiar ? Does Methodism differ from 
the Anglican Church, or the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, in regard to Episcopacy? We answer, 
unhesitatingly, yes, in several important particu- 
lars. In the Methodist Church, Episcopacy is 
not an order, separate, distinct, and above Presby- 
tacy — if we may be allowed to make such a 
word ; Episcopos and Presbuteros are synonyms, 
so far as order is concerned, and both, in the New 
Testament, are Overseers or Superintendents of 
the Church. In . Methodist parlance, the term 
Bishop has this sense alone, and hence is only 
regarded in the light of an office, and that office 
elective. We must be allowed here to remark, 
that the form of " consecration," and the " setting 
apart " an individual " by the imposition of 
hands," is only formal, and simply confirmatory 



34 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

of his election, and has direct reference to his 
office and work. It is not the prerogative of a 
Methodist bishop to ordain a deacon or an elder, 
though he may judge the candidates ever so well 
qualified ; that right rests with the Annual Con- 
ferences ; and unless the bishop have personal 
knowledge, or a certificate of their election, he 
cannot under any circumstances ordain them. A 
Methodist bishop is the creature of the General 
Conference, by which he is elected to the office, 
and to which he is amenable for his moral and 
ministerial acts. General Conference has the 
power to depose, suspend, or expel him from the 
office and the church. So much is he a mere 
officer or agent of the Conference, that he is not 
allowed to vote on any questions coming before 
that body. A Methodist bishop differs from a 
diocesan, inasmuch as he is required to travel 
through the entire connection, and quadrennially 
preside in every Conference. It is his duty to 
decide questions of order and questions of law, 
subject to an appeal. The power of stationing 
the preachers originally belonged to Wesley, and 
he never relinquished that right while living. 
After his death, it was vested in the Conference, 
which annually appointed a stationing committee. 
The right of stationing preachers, in this country, 
belongs to the Episcopacy. This power is rarely 
or never exercised exclusively. The action of 



EPISCOPACY. 35 

the bishop is merely confirmatory, the nomination 
always coming from the presiding elders. Thus 
it will be seen that, as an order and an office, 
Methodist Episcopacy differs essentially from the 
prelacy of the other churches. 

The idea of ordaining a bishop for the infant 
church in America never entered Wesley's mind. 
When, upon the importunity of Dr. Coke, who 
was set apart by the imposition of his hands for 
the office of a superintendent of the Methodist 
Society in America, he prepared a liturgy for 
him and his associates, he never conceived the 
idea of organizing through him an Episcopal 
Church in America, in the strict and proper sense 
of that term. That this was the case, is abun- 
dantly clear, from his expressed convictions in 
relation to the identity of bishops and elders. It 
was only an office designating who should, for the 
sake of order in the church, ordain deacons and 
elders to supply the spiritual wants of infant soci- 
eties in the administration of the sacraments. 
That the setting apart of Dr. Coke was in no way 
designed to convey the impression that he was 
advanced to a higher grade in the ministry, is 
clearly evident from the fact that he was already 
a peer of Wesley, and hence, as such, he could 
not with any degree of validity receive, nor could 
Wesley with any show of authority confer, a 
higher order. The very supposition is ridiculous 



36 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

in the extreme. In the sense of the term as 
understood by the Roman Catholic and Protestant 
Episcopal Church, there are no bishops in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. The facts show 
that the government of the church is not even a 
moderate Episcopacy, but that it always has been 
nothing more or less than a government of simple 
superintendency, general in its character, but 
wisely balanced and properly restricted in the 
exercise of its functions. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ITINERANCY. 

Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every 
creature. — Mark xvi. 15. 

The history of the New Testament Church, as 
recorded in the " Acts of the Apostles," affords 
the most abundant proof that the first preachers 
of the Gospel were itinerants. Indeed, in search- 
ing for evidence of this fact, we need not go fur- 
ther than the name and the commission given to 
these early heralds of the cross. When Wesley 
entered upon his work of reform, he respectfully 
sought admission into the pulpits of the church to 
which he belonged, and from which he never 
seceded. The doctrine of salvation by faith, and 
a holy life as a fruit thereof, though forming the 
great central doctrine of the Eeformation, found 
no sympathy with a vast majority of the clergy 
of the Establishment. Hence, he was denied the 
pulpit, and obliged to resort to fields and public 
places and school-houses, wherever he could get 
a congregation willing to hear the Gospel. Trav- 
elling from place to place, and filling appointments, 
suggested the idea of forming regular circuits. 
4 



38 GENIUS AND B1ISSI0N OF METHODISM. 

He, and his brother Charles, being, in the provi- 
dence of God, thus thrust out into the broad field, 
were, from the very nature of the case, obliged to 
travel and preach, entering every door that was 
opened, and exhorting all to flee the wrath to 
come, and be saved from their sins. 

To assist in supplying the numerous places 
visited by the Wesleys, and the few of the church 
whom they could get to preach to the multitudes 
who were hungering and thirsting for salvation, 
lay-preachers were appointed, as the exigencies 
required. The idea of such assistants, at first, 
never entered the mind of Wesley. He would 
have thought it a sin against God, as well as the 
order of the church, to have appointed any man 
to the work of exhortation and preaching, who 
was not regularly trained thereto, by having passed 
through a literary and theological course of study. 
But in this, as in every other thing peculiar to 
Methodism, Providence opened the way. John 
Nelson, a mason of Bristol, in Yorkshire, had 
been to London some time, and heard the Gospel 
preached at the foundery. His understanding- 
was enlightened, his conscience awakened, and, 
feeling the force of truth, he earnestly sought 
and found that peace which is the result of jus- 
tifying faith. Though he had full employment 
and large wages in London, he had an uncon- 
querable desire to return to his native place. He 



ITINERANCY. 39 

accordingly did so ; and his relatives and ac- 
quaintances soon began to inquire what he thought 
of this new faith, which, by means of Mr. Ingham, 
had occasioned much conversation in Yorkshire. 
John told them, frankly, that this new faith about 
which they spoke was the old faith of the Gospel, 
and then related his own experience. The news 
of this spread abroad, and excited much wonder. 
Multitudes came to see and inquire for them- 
selves. He was regarded, by many, as laboring 
under partial, if not total, insanity; and this 
prompted him, in self-vindication, to quote, ex- 
plain, compare and enforce, numerous passages 
of Scripture. The recital of his experience, and 
his vindication of the soundness of his faith by 
reference to the word of God, was at first in his 
own house, until the multitude became so large 
that the house could not contain them, which 
induced him to take his position at the door. 
Warm in his first love, and glowing with a desire 
that his neighbors might be partakers of like 
precious faith, he exhorted the crowds who flocked 
to hear him, after he had finished the toils of the 
day, to flee the wrath to come, and be saved from 
their sins. God blessed his word, communicated 
through this unlettered but pious man, and many 
believed and were turned from darkness to light, 
and from the power of Satan unto the liberty of 
the sons of God. Nelson invited Weslev to come 



40 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

down to Bristol, which he did. Here he found a 
lay-preacher, who had been instrumental in the 
conversion of the most abandoned profligates. He 
had before him a living demonstration, that God 
had owned and blest the labors of this man, in the 
conversion of souls. To silence such would be 
to withstand God ; and thus was the founder of 
Methodism fully convinced of the propriety of 
employing converted laymen, who were moved 
with a desire to exhort sinners to repentance, to 
help him in the great work, inasmuch as those 
who were regularly ordained stood aloof, and 
regarded the whole as a species of the wildest 
fanaticism. The first lay-preachers employed by 
Wesley were Messrs. Maxfield, Eichards, and 
Westell. The work went on increasing, through 
the instrumentality of these helpers. Appoint- 
ments were added, circuits formed, the field en- 
larged as laborers could be found to occupy it, 
churches were built, rules drawn up for the gov- 
ernment of the societies, and the regular system 
of the itinerancy established. In addition to this, 
quarterly meetings and annual conferences were 
held, until Methodism spread all over England 
and Wales, extended to Ireland and America, and 
became, under the providence of God, a regular 
and settled church, with all the essential articles 
of faith and rules of government.^ 

*An interesting narrative, calculated to throw light upon 
the itinerant labors of Wesley and his preachers, and approx- 



ITINERANCY. 41 

The term of the appointments of the preachers 
was fixed at an early day. The occasion was 
this. Certain trustees of a chapel were afraid, 
lest the Conference should impose on them a 

imating, in some degree, the hardships encountered by the 
early pioneers of Methodism in this country, is given by 
Southey. "When Wesley began his career of itinerancy, 
there were no turnpikes in England, and no stage-coach which 
went further north than York. In many parts of the northern 
counties, neither coach nor chaise had ever been seen. He 
travelled on horseback, always, with one of his preachers in 
company ; and, that no time might be lost, he generally read 
as he rode. Some of his journeyings were exceedingly dan- 
gerous, — through the ferns of his native country when the 
waters were out, and over the fells of Northumberland when 
they were covered with snow. Speaking of one of the worst 
of these expeditions, which had lasted two days, in tremen- 
dous weather, he says, { Many a rough journey have I had 
before, but one like this I never had, — between wind and 
rain, and hail and ice, and snow, and driving sleet, and pierc- 
ing cold. But it is past. Those days will return no more, 
and are therefore as though they never had been. 3 For such 
exertions and bodily inconveniences, he was overpaid by the 
delight with which he was received by his disciples ; and, 
above all, by the approbation of his own heart, — the cer- 
tainty that he was employed in doing good to his fellow- 
creatures, and the full persuasion that the Spirit of God was 
with him in his work. At the commencement of his errant- 
ry," adds Southey, " he had sometimes to bear with an indif- 
ference and insensibility in his friends. He and John Nelson 
rode from common to common, in Cornwall, preaching to a 
people who heard willingly, but seldom or never proffered 
them the slightest act of hospitality. Returning one day 
from one of these hungry excursions, Wesley stopped his 
horse at some brambles, to pick the fruit. ' Brother Nelson, 5 
4# 



42 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

preacher for many years ; and Wesley, to prevent 
such an occurrence, had the following inserted in 
the Deed of Trust : — " Provided, that the same 
preacher shall not be sent, ordinarily, above one, 
— never above two years ; being himself thor- 
oughly convinced of the propriety of frequent 
changes in the ministry, to keep up a healthy 
spiritual action among the societies. So fully 
was he impressed with the belief that a settled 
ministry was disastrous to the spiritual interests 
of the church, that he once remarked, " Should 
I preach to one congregation steadily for two con- 
said he, 'we ought to be thankful there are plenty of black- 
berries, for this is the best country I ever saw for getting a 
stomach, but the worst I ever saw for getting food. Do the 
people think we can live by preaching ? ' Their lodging was 
little better than their fare. Being detained some time at St. 
Ives', in consequence of the illness of one of their compan- 
ions, ' All that time, 5 says John, ' Mr. Wesley and I lay on 
the floor. He had my great-coat for his pillow, and I had 
Burkitt's Notes on the New Testament for mine. After 
being here nearly three weeks, one morning, about three 
o'clock, Mr. Wesley turned over, and rinding me awake, 
clapped me on the side, saying, 'Brother Nelson, let us be of 
good cheer. I have one whole side yet, for the skin is off but 
on one side. 5 It was only in the beginning of his career that 
he had to complain of inhospitality and indifference. As he 
became known among his people, it was considered a blessing 
and an honor to receive so distinguished a guest and so de- 
lightful a companion ; — a man who, in rank and acquire- 
ments, was superior, whose manners were almost irresistibly 
winning, and whose cheerfulness was like perpetual sun- 
shine." 



ITINERANCY. 43 

secutive years, I would preach myself, as well 
as the people, dead as stones." The itinerant 
system has ever formed a most prominent part of 
Methodism ; and, though it has many inconven- 
iences connected with it so far as the ministry is 
concerned, requiring them to make often many 
and trying sacrifices, yet it is to the church as the 
life-blood to the system. In this respect, it has 
attracted the attention of other churches, who 
have not failed to witness its good effects ; and, 
in some sections of the country, it has been par- 
tially adopted by those churches who are anxious 
to bear the messages of mercy to every creature. 
"We are willing to concede that a settled pastor- 
ate has many and great advantages ; so far, at 
least, as the ministry is concerned, in affording 
them greater facilities for study, giving them, a 
vastly greater influence in society in all its de- 
partments, yielding them a more certain and ade- 
quate support, and giving them a better opportu- 
nity for educating their children ; but, so far as the 
spiritual prosperity of the church is concerned, an 
itinerant ministry is, upon the whole, most desir- 
able. 

It would be well for the ministry of the present 
day to inquire to what extent it has complied 
with the great commission of the Saviour, in 
preaching the Gospel to every creature within the 
bounds of their respective fields of labor. What 



44 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

minister does not know that there are hundreds 
in every circuit and town, and thousands upon 
thousands in every city, who do not hear the Gos- 
pel, — who are as unused to its sound, and unblest 
with its messages of mercy, as though they were 
dwelling in the interior of some heathen land, 
where the missionary has not penetrated ? It will 
not do to say the churches are sufficiently nu- 
merous, and open for the accommodation of all. 
All this may be, and they may, by some kind 
tract visitor, be invited to attend the house of God ; 
but alas ! they never, or seldom, come. Occa- 
sionally, the children of such may be allured into 
the Sabbath-school, but it is rare to see any of 
their parents at church. They are, to all intents, 
" spirits in prison ; " and, if the Gospel of repent- 
ance reach their ears, we must, like our Divine 
Master, go to their prison and proclaim it to them. 
Multitudes upon multitudes are fearful to leave 
their garrets and cellars, to be seen by the light 
of day ; and the gas-light of the streets, at night, 
only reveals their haggard features. Think you 
that such, — and there are hundreds of thousands 
of such in our own land, — will venture into the 
open aisles, or galleries, or lobbies of our churches? 
No ! If they should be drawn there by the Spirit, 
their singular appearance would attract universal 
attention, and the shrug of shoulders and sidelong 
glances of the audience, or the interposition of 



ITINERANCY. 45 

the sexton or police-officer, would forever debar 
them from so hazardous an undertaking again. 
Thus shut out from all the sympathies of life, 
and, like a neglected wreck, left to rot and mould- 
er in the winds and rains of heaven, unknown 
and uncared for, is it a wonder they are thus 
degraded ? Would it not be a thousand wonders 
if, under such circumstances, they should become 
virtuous ? No ; we repeat it, if such are saved, 
the Christ-commissioned preacher must go to 
their dark and dismal abodes of vice and poverty, 
and, with all the entreaties of a heart burdened 
with love for perishing souls, " compel them to 
come " into the kingdom, which is thus by their 
ministrations brought to their very doors. No 
election can be made in regard to the localities 
where the minister shall preach the Gospel, when 
he is commanded to "go into all the world" and 
proclaim its glad tidings to " every creature." No 
den of infamy, no scene of pollution, no theatre 
of sin and shame, where immortal spirits are 
ripening for hell, can shut out from their fatal 
circles, by the social and conventional proprieties 
of life, God's ambassador to perishing souls. It 
was obedience to Christ's command that brought 
odium on Whitefield and Wesley ; and the church 
at the present day needs a revival of this inde- 
pendent, self-sacrificing spirit in her ministry, ere 
the worse than heathen in our midst are con- 



46 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

verted to God. It is this that will make them 
marks for the derision and scorn of those who are 
too pure to be found in such a tainted atmosphere ; 
but, in the language of Southey when applied to 
Wesley, they will be " shining marks," — they 
will be " lights in a benighted land," and the mes- 
sages of mercy, which they bear to these sin- 
ruined souls, will break into their hearts, — 

" As breaks on the traveller, faint and astray, 
The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn." 



CHAPTER V. 

SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. 
Plead for the widow. — Isaiah i. 17. 

Among the impassioned strains with which the 
heaven-inspired Isaiah opens his prophecy, we 
find the impressive admonition we have chosen 
as our motto. It stands first among the recorded 
duties enjoined for the government of a regener- 
ated heart and life, and was to be regarded as 
first among the types of that better dispensation 
which the prophet saw in vision. The " pure 
and undefiled religion " of the latter day was to 
exhibit itself in pouring consolation into the 
widow's heart, and throwing the shield of pro- 
tection around her helpless children ; and Chris- 
tianity never shows herself more lovely than 
when, with angel speed, she flies to the home of 
sorrow, to enfold in her wings the widow and 
fatherless. No part of her mission is so confirm- 
atory of her heavenly origin, as when, with the 
soft hand of mercy, and the melting eye of char- 
ity, she descends from the outskirts of the storm 
and gathers the stricken into her bosom. The 



48 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

last words of the benevolent Jesus, while fainting 
beneath his cross, and amid the heart-bursting 
agonies of Calvary, were full of compassionate 
concern for the weeping daughters of Jerusalem, 
and his own grief-smitten mother. Mary of 
Magdala, the widow of Nain and of Syrophoe- 
nicia, were monuments of his most distinguished 
mercy, and his acts of benevolence to them have 
given him a world-wide fame, and an elevated 
place in every woman's heart. Never will the 
period arrive when the tenderest sympathies of 
woman will not be elicited by the recital of his 
acts of mercy. It would seem most befitting that 
a church bearing his hallowed name, and pro- 
fessing to be governed by his precepts, should 
regard an attention to the wants and woes of 
woman as of cardinal importance. 

A compassionate regard for the widow and 
fatherless formed a part of the Mosaic law, .and 
runs through all the teachings of the Old Testa- 
ment canon, but its full development was reserved 
for Christianity. The stream of benevolence, as 
directed towards woman, took its rise immediately 
after the entrance of Christ upon his ministry. 
It reached its culminating point at the cross, when 
the sorrows of a world were breaking a Saviour's 
heart ; and it has flowed on, through all the ages 
of the Christian church, to the present time, dif- 
fusing its influence abroad, and indicating, by its 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 49 

effects, the presence of her ever-abiding benevo- 
lence, and ever-working power. 

The church should take her station at the 
cross. It is only in the contemplation of that 
moving scene which presents itself to the eye 
and affects the heart, that the church can take in 
a full view of the wondrous plan of redemption. 
Here, only, can she fully learn the immensity of 
the cost, the astounding nature of the price, of the 
world's salvation. Here she beholds the Son 
of God, fresh from the Father's glory, with all 
the treasures of wisdom, purity, and knowledge, — 
with all the wealth of eternity, and a universe of 
love, — as a victim, to satisfy incensed justice, and 
reconcile the world to God. Here she has the 
full, complete, and ever-living embodiment of 
God's everlasting love, which, from the cross, 
was to be transferred to the church, and ramify 
and radiate through the earth, making all hearts 
to sing for joy. In the blaze of this great central 
sun of the Gospel, her heart will melt while she 
gazes, and the streams of benevolence and love 
will flow out to bless the world. 

Setting on fire all her emotions, she will be 
attracted by every object of suffering, and fly to 
pour the oil of joy and consolation into every 
afflicted heart. Tottering old age, lisping in- 
fancy, bereaved widowhood, helpless orphanage, 
5 



50 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

and distressed humanity of every form, will feel 
her approach, and rejoice in her light. 

A neglect, on the part of the church, to make 
provision for poor distressed widows, and helpless 
orphans, in her " daily ministrations," would 
write " Ichabod " on all her banners, and send 
spiritual death and desolation through all her 
ranks. As an evidence that the dispensation of 
mercy and benevolence had commenced, and 
that Messias had already entered upon his mis- 
sion, Jesus sent back the inquiring disciples to 
John, with the testimony confirmatory of proph- 
ecy, — " The healed sick, the cleansed lepers, 
the restored blind, the raised dead, and the heart- 
gladdened poor," bore a loud, testimony to his 
mission from heaven. 

Christianity possesses not her true character- 
istics, where she is not eyes to the blind, hearing 
to the deaf, feet to the lame, and speech to the 
dumb. It is her specific work, to feed the hun- 
gry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and provide 
for the stranger, and by these marks all her mem- 
bers will be known and acknowledged in the 
judgment day. 

It was the design of her author that the church 
should be the living embodiment of a universal 
benevolence, and present to the world an institu- 
tion of philanthropy such as the most cultivated 
and refined nations of antiquity never produced 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 51 

or conceived. Wherever her spirit has been dif- 
fused, this feature of her character has been as 
strongly marked as the love of God itself. It 
began with her birth, grew with her growth, and 
strengthened with her strength. A love for God, 
producing its corresponding emotion, extinguish- 
ing all selfishness, prompted her followers to fly 
to the relief of suffering humanity. A remarka- 
ble instance of philanthropy occurred among the 
early Christians, in A. D. 251. A desolating 
pestilence visited the Eoman empire, and was 
especially destructive in northern Africa. The 
pagans, at Carthage, through fear of infection, 
neglected the care of the sick. They expelled 
them from their houses, and they died by thou- 
sands in the streets, and their dead bodies poi- 
soned the air. All the ties of human brotherhood 
were sundered and forgotten. Just before this, 
the Christians had suffered a bloody persecution, 
and during the plague they were exposed to the 
fury of the populace, as those who had caused 
the gods to pour down their vengeance "upon the 
land. At this dreadful crisis, Cyprian, Bishop 
of Carthage, exhorted Christians to be true to 
their principles. " If," said he, " we do good to 
our brethren only, we do no more than publicans 
or pagans. As true Christians, we must over- 
come evil with good, we must love our enemies, 
as our Lord hath admonished us, and pray for our 



52 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

persecutors. Since we are born of God, we must 
show ourselves worthy of our heavenly birth, by 
imitating the goodness of our heavenly Father." 
The advice was immediately followed, by the 
rich giving money, and the poor their personal 
services, and soon the sick were nursed and the 
dead buried. Thus if has been, and thus it ever 
will be, where the religion of Christ brings forth 
its legitimate fruits. 

All institutions and plans of benevolence, that 
exist in the world, can be traced to Christianity, 
as streams to a fountain, or as light to the sun ; 
and the faithful observance of her principles will 
be all that is required to make earth bloom with 
the joys of another Eden, and spread, coextensive 
with the wants and miseries of man, "peace and 
good vjill." 

Christianity is distinguished from heathenism 
in an especial manner, in regard to the treatment 
of females. In all heathen countries, woman has 
been degraded from her high original, as the 
companion and help of man, and converted into a 
slave. Confucius places women and slaves upon 
the same level, and complains of an equal diffi- 
culty in managing both. The religion of India 
requires the immolation of the widow on the 
funeral pile, at the death of her husband, and in 
every land where idolatry reigns, degradation, 
slavery, and death, is the hapless lot of woman. 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 53 

A new era has dawned upon her fate. A new 
star, full of hope and promise, has risen upon her 
destiny. The notes of mercy have been borne 
by every wind from Calvary ; and the standard 
of the cross, planted on the mountains, plains, 
valleys and shores, of India, China, Africa, and 
Polynesia, has become the protecting aegis of the 
oppressed and down-trodden. The mission of 
the cross contemplates the breaking every yoke, 
and the removal of every burden, under which 
humanity groans. It takes its stand against the 
oppressor, and defends, as with a two-edged 
sword, ever unsheathed, the helpless poor; and if 
it succeed not here in redressing their grievances, 
because of the " oppressor's power," it binds over 
the tyrant to the judgment of the great day. 

Heaven-descended, the church is the universal 
friend of humanity — the deliverer of the world 
— the great light-house on the stormy coast of 
time — the forlorn hope, when every other help 
and hope shall fail. 

Shall earth-born institutions, dictated by a 
worldly policy in their plans of benevolence, out- 
vie and be substituted for the church of the liv- 
ing God, in their zeal to provide for their own ? 
and shall these associations justify their separate 
organization without her pale, on the ground of 
her remissness in this respect ? Spirit of Christi- 
anity! whither art thou fled ? The church was 



54 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

designed to be the great asylum for all the dis- 
tressed and poor of every land, — a "Bethesda" 
with its spacious halls, and health-giving waters, 
and ever-present angel Saviour, where all might 
enter, without the tedious process of initiation, or 
the exaction of a fee. The voice of free grace 
was always to be heard sounding the invitation 
from her gates : — 

" Ho, all ye starving, homeless poor, 
That no relief can find, 
Here may be found a ready cure 
For every sorrowing mind. 3 ' 

But we are not now to plead the cause of the 
poor and afflicted. They ever have been, and 
ever will be, the property of the church; and she 
loses all claims of relationship to Christ whenever 
she ceases to provide for them, wherever found. 
In every poor and afflicted man, woman, or child, 
she sees a brother and sister, son and daughter, 
who, in the impersonation of Jesus, asks and 
receives her alms. 

Nor do we now present the condition and 
claims of the widow and fatherless, — the most 
helpless and hapless of all poor. We have a 
more important and touching duty to perform. 
Our plea is for widows and orphans, indeed, but 
of a peculiar class, having greater claims upon 
our sympathy, and bearing a stronger relation to 
the church, if possible, than all others. We pre- 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 00 

sent the claims of those whose husbands and 
fathers lived, and labored, and died, in the service 
of the church. For the bereaved of those who 
were to have " no inheritance on earth," but who, 
"leaving houses and lands," and separating them- 
selves from all worldly employments, were, by 
the very nature of their office and work, forbidden 
to " serve tables," or to engage in any of the vari- 
ous money, land, or trade speculations of the day, 
for the purpose of either support or gain ; for those 
who were set apart in an exclusive vocation, and 
were required to " give themselves wholly to the 
work of the ministry." 

We plead for mothers and children who have 
shared in the privations, hardships and sacrifices, 
of a pastor's life ; who, while engaged in the itine- 
rancy, could call no place home ; for those who, as 
strangers and pilgrims, journeyed from place to 
place, and who, in their wanderings, have left, per- 
haps, a daughter sleeping in the silent graveyard 
of some distant circuit, or a son in some remoter 
spot resting among strangers ; for those whom 
Providence had called to follow their leader and 
guide in his weary marches, until, faint with the 
fatigues and labors of his ministry, he fell at his 
post in the midst of the conflict. We plead for 
the dear ones to whom, when dying, he had noth- 
ing to leave but a husband and father's blessing, 
— commending them to the church as the only 



56 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

friend and protector left them of God. Many 
have we known, who, when entering upon the 
work of the ministry, had houses and lands and 
personal estate, and whose prospects were as flat- 
tering as any for affluence in this world, but who 
were cut off from worldly things, and, shut up to 
the service of him who " had not where to lay his 
head," abandoned all, and in the course of a few 
years, being unsupported by the church, were 
obliged to consume their property in the education 
and maintenance of their family. We plead for 
the widows and orphans of those whose hands 
were open as charity to every call of the church 
and plea of humanity. 

We confess it is one of the most sad and 
melancholy pictures upon which our mind ever 
rested, to see the wife and children of such men, 
" of whom the world was not worthy," and 
" ivhose praise ivas in all the churches" wandering 
about from place to place, to seek for the friends 
who loved and almost idolized their earthly pro- 
tector while living, but who had strangely and 
suddenly forgotten both him and his family when 
dead. Melancholy as it is, the picture, alas ! is so 
true as to be recognized in all its lines and shad- 
ings by every itinerant ; and gladly would he blot 
it out, as it passes before him like some painful 
vision of the past. As that which is least courted 
and worst dreaded, like a frightful spectre, haunts 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 57 

the imagination and produces gloomy forebodings, 
so the trials and sufferings of many a faithful 
minister's wife and children rise up before him, 
and fill him with sadness. Unpleasant though it 
be, justice requires the picture to be faithfully 
drawn. 

Death has arrested the faithful laborer, and the 
church has borne its pastor to the tomb. See that 
family weeping beside the grave of all they held 
most dear on earth, while every clod which falls 
upon the coffin is as the knell of their earthly 
hopes ! With sad and sorrowful hearts, they 
leave the place of graves, and return — but not 
to their home. Home! they have none. Death, 
which dissolved the tie that bound pastor to peo- 
ple and people to pastor, has severed the family 
from that relation too, and the parsonage, humble 
though it be, must be vacated for another, who is 
called to fill the place of the deceased. House- 
less and homeless wanderers ! who shall care for 
ye now? Once ye had friends who vied with 
each other in offices of kindness and in attention 
to your wants, but whose kindness and attention 
are suddenly arrested now by the fear of your 
becoming a burden. At the very time ye most 
need the sympathy of such, your very affliction 
has occasioned an estrangement. It is not enough 
that your Father's hand has fallen heavily upon 
you, but, gathering all around you, like the waves 



58 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

of the sea in a storm, calamity succeeds calamity, 
sweeping away every earthly hope. Where shall 
ye go ? Ah ! returning echo might answer. 
Kind words, expressions of sympathy, and letters 
of condolence, will not provide for them a home, 
or supply their wants. Sad and disconsolate, and 
feeling, alas! too sensibly, that she and her chil- 
dren are a burden, the mother gathers what little 
effects may be left, and removes to a former place 
of residence, w r here so much kindness was mani- 
fested during her stay as the minister's wife, and 
where so many tears gave evidence of sorrow at 
parting. But, alas ! poor woman, her cup is not 
yet full. The former friends have either forgot- 
ten her, or, unwilling to be burdened by her 
family, have given her a cold reception, and 
heartlessly suggested another place as better for 
her, or more than intimated the propriety of send- 
ing her daughters out to work as servants, or 
warned her against expecting too much from the 
church, when, at that moment, she is absolutely 
suffering for the necessaries of life. It is not 
enough that she, who was raised tenderly and in 
affluence, should forsake her father's house, and 
mother's love, and sister's affection, and travel 
through the land among strangers, often living in 
the wilderness, in rude cabins, scarcely affording 
sufficient shelter from the rude blasts of winter. 
No, it would seem that the church demands even 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 59 

a greater sacrifice than this. Her feelings, as well 
as her comforts, must be taxed to the utmost; and 
if she has not been able to save from the miserable 
pittance of her husband's " quarterage " a compe- 
tency, she must be charged with wilful extrava- 
gance, pride, or want of economy. 

Now, if the church shall, for withholding assist- 
ance from any suffering poor be regarded as 
refusing help to Christ himself, what must be 
thought of that church which will not provide 
for those who emphatically belong to her, and 
have claims, above and beyond all others, upon 
her benevolent sympathies ? 

But can it be possible that such a state of 
things can exist anywhere save in the imagina- 
tion of the writer ? Can a description of avarice 
and heartlessness that would disgrace heathenism 
have the slightest foundation when applied to the 
Christian church ? Shades of departed ministers, 
witness its truth ! Smitten, scattered, and poverty- 
stricken remnants of ministers' families, as ye are 
found, pining in poverty and seclusion, all over the 
land, attest its faithfulness ! Would to God it 
were a fancy sketch ! Would to Heaven it were 
only the reverie of an erratic mind, unduly tinged 
with a morbid melancholy, and unfitted for sober 
reflection ! What ! dare you breathe so damning 
and slanderous an imputation upon the church 
as to say that she does not provide plentifully for 



60 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the widows and fatherless children of those who 
have lived, labored and died, in her service? 
Yes, we dare, but it is with more of sorrow than 
indignation that we make the charge. God being 
our helper, we will reiterate it while we live, and 
expect to w x eep over it when we die, as the pros- 
pect of a helpless family shall rise before our 
death-darkened vision, — cast off from the sup- 
port and sympathies of the church, and left to 
struggle alone amid the storm. Ay, we must, 
we shall utter it, and, living or dying, it shall be 
our great concern to plead for the widow and the 
fatherless who have been left to the charge of the 
church. 

We do not wish to convey the impression that 
the church has done nothing, by way of legisla- 
tive enactment or temporal arrangement, for the 
relief of such. In the earliest period of the his- 
tory of Methodism, a plan was devised for the sup- 
port of superannuated ministers, and the widows 
and orphans of such as had died in the work. A 
fund was early created, and each candidate for 
admission into the travelling connection was 
required to pay four dollars, and thereafter two 
dollars annually, for this specific object. From 
this fund, every worn-out preacher, widow, and 
child, was entitled to receive a certain dividend. 
From that time to the present, the subject has 
occupied the attention of the church at every 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 61 

General Conference, while a " Chartered Fund 1 ' 
and an overshadowing " Book Concern " have 
taken the place of ministerial donations, and one 
would think, from the imposing array of appear- 
ances, that all our claimants had an adequate 
support. 

Let us look at the appearances presented by the 
church for the support of those who are emphati- 
cally her poor, because she has made them, so by 
her stinted supplies. We say stinted supplies ; 
and ihat this is true, a simple reference to the 
facts in the case will show. A Methodist preacher, 
if married, is allowed 8200 and travelling and 
table expenses. He is also allowed a trifling sum 
for each child, not enough to school and clothe 
them. There are honorable exceptions, but, as a 
general thing, the committee appointed to estimate 
the amount necessary for his support rarely, if 
ever, base it upon what it will cost to support him, 
but upon the amount they can probably raise for 
that object. Never was there more glaring injus- 
tice. Take a city, for instance. One of the 
estimating committee has a family. It costs him 
between two and three thousand dollars annually 
to support his family. The preacher's family is 
of the same size exactly, and he fixes his support 
at eight or nine hundred dollars. So in towns, 
villages, and in the country, generally less than 
one half is allowed the preacher that is necessary 
6 



62 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

to support the steward who makes the allowance. 
The church may be acting upon the principle 
that it is necessary to keep her ministers poor, 
that they may be humble ; but she may depend 
upon it, it is the most wretched policy, and the 
most destructive to her prosperity. Besides, 
what minister, keenly alive to the wants of his 
family, and seeing them so poorly provided for, 
has the heart to labor for a church, blessed with 
abundance, that will allow him to starve or become 
involved in debt ? It is not only natural but gra- 
cious to love those most who take the liveliest 
interest in our welfare. The blessed Jesus him- 
self was more often found at the house of Martha, 
in Bethany, than anywhere else. The church 
that coldly calculates how little it will take to 
keep the preacher out of the poor-house, instead 
of raising him above want, and cheerfully minis- 
tering to all his necessities, need never look for 
permanent prosperity, but, like a well without 
water, cloud without rain, and tree without fruit, 
shall die itself, at last, of starvation. 

We want no better evidence of the true spiritual 
prosperity of a church than that it is ever prompt 
to the calls of justice in giving a liberal support to 
its pastor, and ever ready to attend to the vari- 
ous calls of benevolence that present themselves, 
from time to time, upon its charity. Alas ! how 
many are more troubled about what it will cost 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 63 

them to meet the pecuniary demands upon them 
in the shape of ministers' salaries, and incidental 
church expenses, than the upbuilding' of the 
church in holiness, and the extension of the 
Redeemer's kingdom in the salvation of souls ! 
How often, when a pastor is sent them, is the 
question asked in regard to the size of his family, 
instead of his qualifications in gifts, grace and 
usefulness, for the conversion of souls, the sancti- 
fication of believers, and the promotion of all the 
interests of the kingdom of Christ ! While these 
obstructions exist, in vain may we hope that the 
word of God will have free course and be glorified 
in that church. If she would enjoy the super- 
abundant blessings of God, she must " bring all 
her tithes into his storehouse," and prove his 
faithfulness in increasing their resources an hun- 
dred fold. 

The proceeds of the Book Concern, and General 
Conference papers, embracing real estate and 
stock to the amount of between $600,000 and 
$800,000, together with the Chartered Fund of 
$2-5,000, and the amount raised by what is tech- 
nically denominated the " Fifth Collection," are to 
be annually appropriated to the support of super- 
annuated preachers, and the widows and orphans 
of those who have died in the work. 

Now, we hesitate not to say, that of all the 
plans ever devised, so far, at least, as yielding a 



64 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

support to worn-out ministers, and the widows and 
orphans of those deceased, this has proved a fail- 
ure the most mischievous. The proceeds of this 
immense Concern, together with the Chartered 
Fund, with their princely investments, yield com- 
paratively nothing, so far as extending an ade- 
quate support to the destitute having claims upon 
them are concerned. It is mischievous in its ten- 
dency, because a general impression is produced 
that this mammoth concern is abundantly able 
to meet all the claims made upon it, and thus our 
widows and orphans are fed and clothed. As an 
inducement offered to the friends of Methodism 
to purchase our books and take our periodicals, 
a standing caption on all of the latter meets the 
eye at every glance : " The proceeds are to be 
annually applied to the relief of superannuated 
preachers, and the widows and orphans of such 
as have died in the work." 

One would think this, surely, an admirable 
arrangement for furnishing a competent support. 
But, alas ! it is only an arrangement, — a huge, 
complex machinery, whose lumbering wheels and 
creaking joints create a noise and confusion which 
prevent the claims and cries of the widow and 
orphan from being heard. Ask a member of 
the church to open wide his hand for the relief 
of her distressed and helpless charge, and he 
instantly sees rising before him, in the great 



PERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 65 

metropolis and the queen city, the stately piles, 
the glittering cases and groaning shelves, the 
multiplied thousands of subscribers and patrons, 
the hundreds of agents, clerks, and workmen, all 
contributing to that object. In addition to all 
this, he hears the clink of thousands in the cof- 
fers of the Chartered Fund. Think you that 
through such a complex mass of resources he can 
see their wretched hovels and scanty fare, or 
hear their sad complaint ? No, he cannot see, 
he cannot hear ; or, if he do, the lordly mansion, 
or rich valley farm, or store, or lucrative profes- 
sion, of some earth-devoted superannuate, who 
clings to his dividend with the tenacity of a 
leech, at once blinds his eyes, stops his ears, 
steels his heart, and closes his hand. 

We have sometimes thought that this immense 
Concern, with its almost boundless resources, and 
innumerable patrons, and high-priced theology 
and literature, w T as not allowed to yield a revenue 
anywhere approximating similar establishments, 
simply because it stood in the way of God's suf- 
fering poor. Certain it is, that it has been the 
prolific parent of all the bickerings, and heart- 
burnings, and litigations, that have cursed the 
church for the last twenty years, while at this 
very time it forms the fattened victim on which 
avaricious and hungry legal politicians gloat and 
feast their eyes. Requiring, as it does, men who 
6* 



66 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

professed to be moved by the Holy Ghost to take 
upon themselves the work of the ministry, and 
who gave evidence of their call by a zeal and de- 
votion in the work of saving souls that gladdened 
all hearts, to tie themselves down to business let- 
ters and books, banks, exchanges and insurances, 
bonds, notes and mortgages, rents, dividends and 
deposits, is to take God's ambassadors from his 
mission, and imprison the word of life itself. 
Tell us not that this in no way damps their zeal, 
or affects their influence. As well might you 
say, that an eagle might soar to his eyrie in mid- 
heaven, while pinioned to earth. 

We bring no charge against the church, or her 
Book Concern, or any connected with it, of corrup- 
tion. We believe the church sincerely thought she 
was doing God service in the establishment of the 
Concern, and we believe all in any way connected 
with it are honest and faithful ; but we also be- 
lieve that it would be vastly to the spiritual inter- 
ests of the church, if we had not one book-store, 
or depository, in the world, unless it were exclu- 
sively under the control and management of our 
lay brethren, to whom worldly employments more 
appropriately belong. The same providence ev- 
idently hangs over the Book Concern that hung 
over " Cokesbury College," or else it would not 
have involved the church in so much strife and 
difficulty, and be attended with so little prosper- 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 67 

ity. We are aware that nothing we can say will 
create any opposition to the Concern, nor, on the 
other hand, could aught that the most influential 
or eloquent say hush the wide-spread dissatisfac- 
tion which, in half-suppressed but ominous mur- 
murs, rises up from all parts of the land. What- 
ever may be said in its defence, one thing is 
certain, — as the hope of the broken-down, indigent 
teacher, and widow and her orphans, it is as 
deceptive as the mirage in the desert ; and 

11 Who that mid the desert heat 
Sees the waters fade away, 
Would not rather die than meet 
Streams again as false as they ?" 

Whatever may be claimed by the most ardent 
advocates of the Book Concern, in favor of its 
importance as an institution essential to the pros- 
perity of the church for the promotion of Metho- 
dism, in the facilities which it affords for the 
diffusion of a sound theology and a pure litera- 
ture, one thing must be conceded, and that is, 
that it does not now, it never has, and, in all 
probability, it never will, apart from the present 
ever-continued and increasing demands upon its 
resources, yield anything like an adequate sup- 
port to our worn-out preachers, and the widows 
and orphans of such as have died in the work. 
If provided for at all, we must direct our atten- 
tion to another quarter. That the Book Concern 



68 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

is conducted upon the best business principles 
and tact, we are not prepared to admit ; — the 
very admission would create a suspicion which 
we would not even dare to breathe. Certain it 
is, there is not a similar establishment in all the 
country that commands greater facilities, or has 
a more extensive list of agents and patrons, and 
yet there are none in any way approximating its 
size that yield so little profit. This has often 
created surprise in business circles, especially 
when it is taken into the account that the real 
estate is exempt from taxation, and the books 'in 
the catalogue are at least twenty per cent, higher 
than those of any other publishing house. This 
state of things, however, is not to be wondered 
at, when we take into the account the policy of 
the church in such matters. It is not to be ex- 
pected that men w r ho entered the ministry in their 
youth, and formed nothing but ministerial habits 
during the better portion of their lives, should, 
without a miracle, be qualified to enter upon the 
management of a concern requiring the very best 
business qualifications. Nor is it expected that 
their constitutional advisers, — however safe they 
may be, — the most of whom are removed from 
the scene of its operations, knowing nothing of 
their detail, and wholly unacquainted with the 
book business, should, without a similar interpo- 
sition, be competent to give the proper instruction. 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 69 

la the very nature of things, these difficulties 
must ever exist, so long as the policy of the 
church requires travelling preachers to conduct 
these establishments. But is there no remedy? 
To this we would respectfully suggest an affirma- 
tive answer. A remedy is within the reach of 
the church, and, to our view, perfectly practicable. 
As a way of obviating these difficulties, we 
would recommend the General Conference to 
place the entire management of its Book Concern 
ia the hands of business men ; men who, by the 
service of an apprenticeship to the trade, have 
made themselves thoroughly and practically ac- 
quainted with all the departments of such an 
establishment, and are in every sense strictly 
responsible. If this should not be deemed advis- 
able, then let the real estate and stock be sold 
to the highest bidder, requiring the purchaser to 
keep the market amply supplied with all the 
books of the catalogue, and to publish such others 
as the church authorities may, from time to time, 
demand. Let the proceeds of sale be added to 
the Chartered Fund, and the dividend annually 
accruing be applied to the relief of the claimants. 
If the interest on this investment does not meet 
the claims, then let each Conference — the ap- 
propriations being definitely known — make pro- 
vision for meeting them, by collections apportioned 
to the different circuits and stations. Either of 



70 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the above arrangements would be in strict accord- 
ance with the restrictive rule of the Discipline, 
in regard to the specific objects of the Book Con- 
cern, and would secure, if adopted, a prompt and 
adequate support to distressed preachers, their 
wives, widows, and orphans. As it is, the vast 
resources, coming through so many channels to 
their relief, are more than half absorbed before 
they reach their trembling hands. 

See that widow and her children, none of 
whom are of adult age, and all of whom must 
have an education ! She depends for her support 
upon her own hands, and what she annually re- 
ceives from the dividend of the Book Concern 
and Chartered Fund. As winter approaches, the 
time for the meeting of the Annual Conference 
arrives. This is to her a period of the most 
touching and melancholy interest. It brings viv- 
idly before her mind the incidents and scenes of 
other days. But they are gone, never to return, — 
a sunny spot in memory's wide waste, on which 
she loved to linger. 

" Happier days than e'er can greet her 

To the mystic land are borne. 

Days of blossom, days of blessing, 

Past, forever past and gone." 

The session of Conference is over, and the min- 
isters return to their respective fields, preparatory 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 71 

to their removal to the new ones assigned them. 
Her pastor comes to her house, and in his hand 
he holds a small package, on which is written, 

"Widow and children, $40.00," — and 

we have never known it to exceed fifty, no matter 
how many children. 

It is often much less. Take, for instance, the 
Ohio Conference. The dividend from the Book 
Concern, Chartered Fund, and Fifth Collection, for 
tea years past, has not averaged twenty-six cents 
on the dollar ; the widow, then, would be entitled 
to twenty-six dollars, and her children in propor- 
tion. Often have we seen this pittance, by vote 
of the Conference, turned back into the coffers 
of the Book Concern, to pay a debt contracted by 
her husband for books, which he, as an unpaid 
agent, labored to dispose of on his circuit, or sta- 
tion. The amount necessary for her full support 
could be raised with the greatest ease, and with- 
out burthening any one, if the claims were not 
pretended to be met by the Book Concern. There 
could be but one simple difficulty in the way, 
either of preachers or people, in meeting the full 
demand, and that we have already alluded to, as 
arising from the avariciousness of some superan- 
nuated preachers, who are in comfortable circum- 
stances, or otherwise well provided for, and who 
should have magnanimity enough to relinquish 



YZ GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

their claims in behalf of the suffering widow and 
her children. 

" That was a sad stroke, and one which falls 
heavily upon the church," said Mr. C. to his 
friend and Christian brother, as they met on the 
side-walk, this morning. " How suddenly was 
brother M. struck down in the midst of his use- 
fulness ! How unsearchable are the ways of 
God ! What impervious shadows hide the mys- 
tery of his providence ! But how deep must be 
the affliction of sister M. and her children ! I 
trust that He who tempers the wind to the shorn 
lamb will fulfil his promises, in being a husband 
to the widow, and a father to the orphans." The 
brother addressed had just left the house of mourn- 
ing. He had gone to inquire into the condition 
and circumstances of the bereaved family, and 
what he there saw and heard filled him with un- 
utterable sadness. " Yes," said he to brother C, 
" the stroke is truly heavy, and though the church 
has lost an eloquent and faithful pastor, it has fallen 
with more terrible force upon the family, who, in 
his death, have lost their all of earthly comfort. 
While surrounded by my wife and children this 
morning, in the midst of plenty and happiness, I 
thought of the smitten fold, and resolved, after 
breakfast, to visit the bereaved family. Taking 
a kiss from each prattler, I started. At the gate 
pf the cottage I met one of the daughters, a little 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 73 

girl, who had been to a neighboring house for a 
backet of water; a son, about twelve years of age, 
was cutting wood in the yard. ' Ma is sick this 
morning, and she has not got up yet,' said the 
child, 'but Mrs. Janes is in the house helping us.' 
Sister Janes, having heard of the illness of the 
minister's wife, though unused to labor, prompted 
by a kind heart, which always had a sunny 
side, had come to the parsonage, and was prepar- 
ing breakfast for the family. I found sister M. 
considerably indisposed. Her daily and nightly 
watchings by the bedside of her husband, added 
to her grief at his loss, and the anxieties pressing 
upon her on account of her children, had com- 
pletely prostrated her. ' O,' said she, ' brother 
C, I am glad you have come ! ' and burst into 
tears. When she could command her feelings 
sufficiently to speak, she uttered, in a low and 
subdued tone, 'O brother, what shall I do?' 
Just then a rap was heard at the door ; a note 
was presented to the eldest daughter, which she 
handed to her mother. Sister M. read it, and then, 
handing it to me, repeated, ' What shall I do?' 
A single glance showed it to be a bill for mer- 
chandise, amounting to thirty dollars. ' Sister,' 
said I, 'have you no means?' 'All I have in 
the world,' said she, ' is five dollars, which was 
sent me yesterday by dear sister Janes.' ' Had 
your husband no property ? ' ' Mr. M. and myself 
7 



74 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

both had a respectable amount when we entered 
the travelling connection, but it is all gone. The 
most of the humble furniture, which you see in 
the house, belongs to the parsonage. What we 
had, originally, has been w T orn out and sacrificed 
by frequent and lengthy removals. Apart from 
a few articles, the library, horse, and cow, are all 
we have left in the world. We have shared 
hardships with our brethren, and though we have 
had a few good appointments, the most of them 
have been poor circuits, and we were obliged to 
dispose of our property to pay debts which were 
contracted from year to year in the support of 
the family. Before coming to this circuit last 
year, what little goods we had were attached for 
a debt, w T hich Mr. M. assured the creditor should 
be paid out of his quarterage this year. He 
had to borrow the money, and the debt remains 
yet unpaid. Besides, there are several debts we 
owe in town, and I wish you w T ould be kind 
enough to see if you cannot sell the horse and 
cow, to enable me to pay them. The books to 
which he was so devoted, I must part with them, 
too. I understand the elder has appointed brother 
G. to take Mr. M.'s place on the circuit, and of 
course we must leave the parsonage. 0, what 
shall we do ? ' Sister Janes just then coming in 
from the kitchen, leading the youngest child, I 
suggested prayer, and, calling in the children, I 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 75 

oowed with that sorrowing family, and poured 
out my supplications in their behalf to God. I 
left that threshold, more than ever realizing the 
truth, that l it is better to go to the house of 
mourning than to the house of mirth.' " 

" Why, brother C, you need not be so much 
concerned about sister M.'s condition ; the Book 
Concern will pay all the debts, and provide for the 
wants of the family. I understand that all the 
profits of that large establishment are directly ap- 
propriated to that object, and the Rev. Mr. P. re- 
marked, the other day, that he wished his church 
made as ample provision for the support of its min- 
istry as the Methodist church. Then, — ' And in 
that case,' said he, ' I would have no distressing 
anxieties about my family if I should die. To 
have a claim on the Book Concern is better than 
a life assurance in the best office in the country, 
as it yields a perpetual support.' Brother C, 
how much do you think it will cost to support 
sister M. and family a year?" "I do not know; 
I believe the stewards allowed brother M. three 
hundred dollars." " Do you think that would be 
sufficient?" " Yes, if she could get three hun- 
dred dollars, I think she could live." " You have 
one child less in your family than she has ; how 
much does it cost you yearly to live ?" " O, you 
knew my expenses are greater. Well, let me 
see. Well, it costs me, I should judge, some- 



76 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

where in the neighborhood of a thousand dollars, 
exclusive of house-rent." "Do you think — now 
that she cannot receive any pay on the circuit — 
that the Book Concern will pay her three hun- 
dred dollars annually ? " "I should think it ought 
to, certainly." " Well, we will just step over to 
brother K.'s office and get the minutes, and then 
we can tell exactly what sister M. will get from 
the Book Concern." "Why," said C, as they 
walked along, " there is scarcely another such an 
establishment in the world. Its books circulate 
among a million of members. It has two exten- 
sive publishing houses, besides branch deposito- 
ries, and the profits accruing from seven weekly 
papers, one monthly periodical with a large circu- 
lation, and a quarterly. The preachers are all 
agents, unpaid, and pledged to supply all parts 
of the land. I should think, from all these sources, 
certainly, the few distressed, worn-out preachers' 
widows and orphans we have, could be sup- 
ported." " Well, we shall see. Here it is, — 
* Steward's report of the Ohio Conference, for the 
year 1849.' The amount received from the Book 
Concern, $300.00; Chartered Fund, $65.00; 
circuits and stations, $1045.10; making, in all, 
$1410.10. 

" This sum is to be divided among forty-seven 
claimants, and the dividend is precisely twenty 
cents and twenty mills on the dollar. We see 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 77 

by this, that if sister M. is, as you supposed, to 
be supported by the Book Concern, she would 
realize from that source her proportion of $300 
among forty-seven claimants, twenty of which 
are superannuated preachers with families whose 
claims are twice as large as hers, she receiving a 
dividend for claims for quarterage for herself and 
children, only. The amount she would receive 
from the Book Concern, as her portion, would 
not purchase a barrel of flour. Let us look at 
the list of widows and children. Here are the 
dividends from the Book Concern, Chartered 
Fund, and Fifth Collection : — 

< Sister C. and children, $29.89. 

< Sister F. and children, 34.75. 

< Sister C. and children, 34.75. 

< Sister F. and children, 37.97. 

< Sister A. and child, 23.43. 
1 Sister Q. and child, 25.05. 

4 Sister F. and children, 26.66.' 
Now, sister M. has four children. Her claims 
are $167.00. She would receive, therefore, $33.40 
to support herself and family for the entire year." 
" Well," said brother C. " that astonishes me, 
truly. I was always laboring under a wrong 
impression in regard to this matter. The church 
must certainly do something more efficiently for 
the support of those who have consecrated all to 
her service ; and as there never was a better time 
7# 



78 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

to begin in this work, here, brother, is twenty 
dollars, as a first fruit for sister M., and I will 
immediately cancel the store account against the 
estate of the deceased." 

The above short conversation illustrates the 
condition into which the wives and children of 
deceased preachers are thrown, in that melan- 
choly hour when death takes the husband and 
father away. The prospect for the widow is 
gloomy indeed. 

The sum she receives she knows is not suf- 
ficient to pay her children's school-bills, while 
house-rent, fuel, table expenses, and clothes, are 
all to be provided. Surely her heart must sink 
within her, and her faith be sorely tried, when, 
with her children, she reads from the Bible that 
God has given them all to the church as their 
provider. With a heavy heart she bows with 
them around the family altar, and in sobs and 
prayers pours out her complaints to God. No 
mortal eye may gaze upon that scene ; no mortal 
ear may catch those sighs, but they " enter into the 
ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth," and the suf- 
fering families of his faithful laborers shall be 
avenged. If God require nothing more than 
justice, without any regard whatever to benevo- 
lence and charity, he will send mildew and 
blasting upon that church that will not comply 
with these demands. He would blot out a world, 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 79 

and " commission his curse to dig- its grave," 
rather than such iniquity should pass unheeded. 
He demands the delivery of all the tithes, and 
charges us with a robbery committed against him- 
self, if we refuse to bring them into his treasury. 
He could support his poor by miracle, as he did 
the widow of Sarepta and the prophet, when the 
church was a desolation ; but it would take the 
wildest fanaticism to believe he would do so now. 
That the church may prepare to meet this de- 
mand, or, in other words, " to meet her God," we 
urge her, in the name of Christ and his suffering 
poor, to rid herself of all semblances, blinding to 
the eye and palsying to the hand, and open her 
heart wide to their claims. Leaving all business 
transactions and worldly plans to take care of them- 
selves, or to be conducted by those to whom they 
properly and appropriately belong, let the full 
claim, in direct appeal, come home unblunted to 
her heart ; and then, if she turn away and prove 
faithless to her trust, we shall consent that the sun 
of her prosperity go down in darkness forever. 
Such will surely be her destiny, if she is found 
t wanting in any essential requirement. She may 
be in doctrine sound, and in labors more abundant ; 
she may denounce and expel from her communion 
all false teachers and corrupt members, and contend 
for the faith with a zeal unquenchable ; and yet 
this " somewhat against her" like a worm in the 



80 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

bud, will eat out her vitality and involve her in 
ruin. A desolation, like that which has reigned 
in sullen silence for centuries over the once flour- 
ishing churches of Asia, will spread its pall over 
us, and our melancholy history, like the ruined 
sites of Ephesus and Smyrna, will serve only as 
a memento of a just and fearful doom. Churches, 
as nations, must be judged in time. The em- 
pires of the old world have been smitten of God, 
and scattered like chaff by the whirlwind. The 
ancient Jewish church, chosen of Heaven and 
honored with the presence and glory of the Holy 
One, has been blasted by the sin-avenging stroke, 
which ground it to powder. The Roman empire, 
and the cotemporary churches of Asia, Europe, 
and Africa, have alike passed away, while the 
monarchies of the present day, based on false and 
unrighteous foundations, are already shaken as 
with the throes of an earthquake, and are totter- 
ing to their fall. Typical Babylon, the plunderer 
of the poor and the murderer of saints, has been 
judged, and is doomed. Her days are already 
numbered, and her grave already dug, for " what- 
soever is not of the Father's right hand planting, 
shall be destroyed." No nation, or church, which 
does not work out the will of Heaven, can survive 
the revolutions of that providence which is ush- 
ering on the reign of the Prince of Peace. 

Every institution, lacking any of the essentia! 



SUPERANNUATED PREACHERS, ETC. 81 

elements of perpetuity, must sooner or later be 
numbered with the forgotten dead, or only live on 
the page of history admonitory of the past. 

In view of these facts, it becomes us to ask our- 
selves, as a church, Are we the accused of Heaven, 
in regard to any delinquency ? Have we the 
faith, the knowledge, the eloquence, the zeal and 
self-consecration, which others have possessed, — 
but, alas ! do we, like them, lack the crowning 
grace of all, — have ice met the demands of God 
in behalf of his poor ? If we have not, " be 
hushed our songs." Better, far better, have all 
the maledictions of the world resting upon us, 
than to hear the " Man of sorrows," in the pres- 
ence of an assembled universe, say to us, " I was 
an hungered, and ye gave me no meat ; thirsty, 
and ye gave me no drink ; naked, and ye clothed 
me not ; sick, and ye did not visit me" 

Let none suppose that this is designed as a cru- 
sade against the General Conference, or her Book 
Concern, or any of the valuable, beloved, and 
faithful brethren connected with the business 
departments of the church. We disclaim all such 
intention, and would cheerfully bear testimony to 
their worth. It is the simple testimony of one, 
frankly and honestly given against a policy which, 
though valuable in itself, when connected with 
the specific mission of Methodism, and her pro- 
vision for those who, above all others, have claims 
upon her benevolence, is of a disastrous tendency. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CLASS-MEETINGS, BANDS, LOVE-FEASTS, WATCH- 
NIGHTS, &c. 

Whatsoever things are true, honest, and just, pure, lovely, and 
of good report, — think on these things. — Phil. iv. 8. 

The society having met together at Bristol, for 
the purpose of adopting some plan for paying the 
debt incurred in building a house of worship, 
after a full and free conversation on the subject, 
it was unanimously resolved that every member 
who was able should contribute a penny a week; 
secondly, that the society should be divided into 
smaller companies, called classes, consisting of 
about twelve members in each ; and, thirdly, that 
one person in each class should be appointed to 
receive the weekly contributions of the rest, and 
pay it over to the stewards. A short time after 
this, Wesley requested several earnest and sensi- 
ble members of the society in London to meet him 
for the purpose of laying before them the difficul- 
ties under which he labored, in not being person- 
ally acquainted with all under his care. After 
much conversation on the subject, they were all 
of the opinion that there could be no way so well 
adapted to reach this result, as to form the mem- 



CLASS-MEETINGS, ETC.. 83 

bers into classes, after the manner at Bristol, and 
appoint suitable persons as leaders. At first, the 
leaders visited each person at his own house ; but 
as it required more time than they had to spare, 
it was found impracticable, and it was agreed that 
each leader should meet his class all together, 
once a week, at some convenient place. By this 
means, a full inquiry was made into the religious 
experience and behavior of each member. As a 
prudential regulation, it had a most happy ten- 
dency to promote Christian fellowship and broth- 
erly love. ^ 

* Class-meetings are tests for ascertaining the spiritual 
condition of the membership, and, as such, are an admirable 
system, " adapted," as Southey expresses it, " to the end pro- 
posed." The leaders are under-shepherds appointed to watch 
over the flocks committed to their care, and to report weekly 
to the pastor their spiritual condition. They are constituted 
by the discipline the spiritual advisers of the preacher in 
charge, and are more nearly related to him, so far as the spir- 
itual interests of the church are concerned, than any other 
church officers. Hence it is their duty to see each member 
once a week, and inquire into their spiritual condition, — to 
advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion may require 
— to examine them specially in reference to their observance 
of all the instituted and prudential means of grace. If any 
are found indulging in sinful tempers, words or actions, and 
will not receive reproof, and promise amendment, their case 
is presented to the pastor, at the leaders' meeting. If, in 
their rounds as watchmen, they find any that are sick, or any 
destitute needing relief, they report them to the preacher in 
charge, who calls upon them and ministers to their spiritual 
and temporal necessities. In the days of Wesley, according 
to the testimony of Southey, —a testimony that prompted 



84 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

To ascertain who belonged to the society, and 
to prevent improper persons from imposing upon 
him, Wesley gave to every serious and well-dis- 
posed person a ticket, on which was printed a 
short portion of Scripture, and on which, also, he 
wrote the date and the person's name. Those 
who received tickets were thus made members of 
the society, and were immediately appointed to 
meet in some one of the classes. These tickets 
were renewed quarterly, and the practice is kept 
up in the church to the present day. 

However valuable this regulation of the church 
may be, as it is readily conceded that of all the 
prudential means of grace it is the most promo- 
tive of spirituality, yet Wesley never thought of 
placing it on a level with any of the instituted or 
divinely authorized means of grace, nor did he 
make it a term of membership in the church. 
Those who wilfully and repeatedly neglected 
class were, after proper reproof, "laid aside" 
from the society for breach of rules ; but it will 

Coleridge to say, " Can such be the church of Christ? " — 
the poor and ignorant were separated from the pastors of the 
Established Church by an impassable gulf. An entrance into 
their miserable hovels would soil their saintly robes, and 
their tale of sorrow and suffering would pollute their fas- 
tidious ears. The card-table, the dance, and the chase, were 
innocent recreations ; but to thread the lanes and alleys, 
searching for the haunts of the poor and sorrow-stricken, was 
a stoop from clerical dignity not to be tolerated. 






CLASS-MEETINGS, ETC. 85 

be recollected that he did not claim for these soci- 
eties anything like a church organization, and 
hence members of the class might be laid aside 
for breach of rules when they were recognized as 
members of the church in good standing, and as 
having a right to all the ordinances thereof. Class- 
meetings were regarded in the light of a privi- 
lege, and attendance thereon furnished an indica- 
tion of spirituality, if not a criterion of growth in 
grace. The weekly self-examination to which it 
subjected the member, as w T ell as the instruction, 
advice, or reproof, as occasion required, w r hich it 
secured from the leader, would, in the very nature 
of things, prompt to greater watchfulness and 
diligence in the performance of duty. To say 
that those who neglect this means of grace, when 
they have opportunity to avail themselves of it, 
are not worthy of a name or a place in the church, 
though they are faithful in attendance upon all 
the means of grace ordained of God, w T ould be to 
offend the children of God in other denomina- 
tions, and to assume, for a merely human regula- 
tion, an importance which the word of God does 
not authorize. We most heartily subscribe to the 
rule requiring members to attend class, and regard 
it as a wholesome regulation, and one which is 
peculiarly adapted to keep alive the spirit of piety 
in the church ; but we never could surround it 
8 



86 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

with those terrors which, in a majority of in- 
stances, render it more repulsive than attractive. 

BANDS. 

Band-meetings originated with the Moravians, 
and while Wesley was connected with them at 
Fetler Lane, the rules for their government were 
drawn up, with the following caption : — " Orders 
of a religious society, met together in obedience 
to that command of God by St. James, chap. 
v. 16, — Confess your faults one to another, and 
pray one for another that ye may be healed." 

The bands were composed of from five to ten 
persons, all of one sex, and as nearly as possible 
of the same age and condition in life. The ques- 
tions proposed at these meetings were of the most 
searching character, relating to thoughts, motives, 
and desires, as well as to actions. All who were 
members of the bands were required to observe 
scrupulously the Friday fast and secret prayer, 
connected with the regular perusal of the Scrip- 
tures, and a regular attendance upon the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper, and all other means 
of grace. The rules enjoined the most rigid self- 
denial, and their observance could not fail, if 
attended to in a proper spirit, to beget and perpet- 
uate a high state of spirituality. They are still 
kept up in the church, though in many places 
they have fallen into disuse, and will, in all prob- 



CLASS-MEETINGS, ETC. 87 

ability, in process of time, be entirely dispensed 
with, inasmuch as class-meetings subserve all the 
important purposes which they were designed to 
effect. 

LOVE-FEASTS. 

This institution was also borrowed from the 
Moravians. Wesley gives the following account 
of his first visit to a love-feast : " It was begun 
and ended with thanksgiving and prayer, and cel- 
ebrated in so decent and solemn a manner, as a 
Christian of the apostolic age would have allowed 
to be worthy of Christ." Soon after this, he in- 
troduced love-feasts into the economy of Meth- 
odism. At first they were designed for the bands 
only, but afterwards the whole society were per- 
mitted to partake with them. 

These are among the most interesting and pop- 
ular meetings held by the church, and their quar- 
terly return is hailed with delight by all the 
members. It is the only thing approximating a 
festival held in the Methodist church ; and as 
all are allowed, on such occasions, to relate their 
experience without being called upon, there is a 
freedom from restraint which gives an ease, and 
imparts an air of comfort and religious cheerful- 
ness, to the whole brotherhood. The stewards 
wait upon the congregation with bread and water, 
which all partake of as the simple emblems of 



OS GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

brotherly love. A collection is always taken up, 
on such occasions, for the poor. 

Often, in these meetings, the greatest religious 
enthusiasm prevails. The relation of religious 
experience, interspersed with appropriate singing, 
gives an interest to the meeting which is scarcely 
ever known to flag, while it usually increases as 
the meeting progresses ; and, to prevent them from 
being protracted until too late an hour, the rule 
requires the preacher having charge to close the 
exercises within a specified time. Long as vital 
piety exists in the church will these meetings be 
held, and prove an important means of keeping up 
a more extensive social intercourse among Chris- 
tians, as well as be productive of brotherly love. 
The want of such meetings has been felt by other 
churches, and some have adopted them, only 
under a different name. Eecently, a pastor in 
one of the eastern cities, lamenting the want of 
Christian sociability, conceived the idea of having 
rooms connected with his church, which should 
be thrown open on certain evenings for the mem- 
bers of the church, where they might hold a kind 
of religious soiree, and, in the interchange of 
Christian salutations, cultivate a warmer friend- 
ship for each other than the cold, distant, and 
dignified recognition at the church on Sabbath 
could possibly produce. These religious soirees 
and promenade fairs may be all innocent enough ; 



CLASS-MEETINGS, E 89 

but in all meetings of the church the religious 
element should preponderate over the social. 

WATCH-NIGHTS. 

The zeal and eloquence of Whitefield elicited 
much opposition from the indolent and pleasure- 
loving clergy of his day, and many were the 
taunts and jests aimed at him. Among others, 
it was said, " If he will convert heat hens, why does 
he not go among the colliers of Kingswood ? " 
There were thousands, in the coal-pits of Kings- 
wood, who never heard the Gospel, and were 
almost as ignorant and besotted as the inhabitants 
of New Zealand, or Caffreland, before receiving 
the Gospel. Whitefield entered this abode of dark- 
ness and death, and, in the fields and among the 
hedges and coal-pits, he poured out from his full 
heart the messages of mercy and salvation. The 
word was attended with power to the hearts of 
wondering and weeping multitudes. Many were 
converted, and their oatlis, curses, and licentious 
songs, were turned into prayers and praises. 
When Whitefield was called away, his place 
was supplied by others, and the glorious work 
went on. 

Before their conversion, the colliers were accus- 
tomed to spend every Saturday night at the ale- 
house. In the place of these bacchanalian orgies, 
8* 



90 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

they met together, and spent the night in singing 
and prayer. In one of his hymns, composed for 
this occasion, Wesley alluded to the unholy diver- 
sions of these sons of night, previous to their con- 
version, in the following manner : — 

11 Oft have we spent the guilty night 
In revelling and frantic mirth ; 
The creature was our sole delight, — 
Our happiness the things of earth. 
But O, suffice the season past ! 
We choose the better part at last." 

These meetings were appointed monthly, at the 
full of the moon. They were subsequently intro- 
duced into all the societies, and are now observed 
in this country on New Year's eve. The exer- 
cises on this occasion are varied as circumstances 
seem to indicate, consisting of preaching, prayer- 
meeting, general class, &c. About fifteen min- 
utes before twelve at night, the covenant hymn is 
sung by the congregation, sometimes upon their 
knees ; after which, the remaining moments of 
the old year are spent in silent prayer. It is a 
season of deep and solemn interest, to witness a 
whole congregation entering upon the virgin year 
in humble prostration before God, imploring his 
mercy for the past, and invoking his blessings for 
the future. Many have been awakened during 
such seasons ; and, as the goodness and mercy of 
God have been made to pass before them, they 



CLASS-MEETINGS, ETC. 91 

have repented of their sins, and entered upon a 
new course of life. 

"THE MOURNER'S OR PENITENT'S BENCH." 

" O happy day that fixed my choice ! " 

The practice of inviting all persons who have 
11 a desire to flee the wrath to come, and be saved 
from their sins," to come forward in the .congre- 
gation and kneel at the altar, or take a seat in 
front, that they may, in a more direct and specific 
manner, receive the instructions and prayers of 
the church, as well as signify their intention to 
abandon the ways of sin and seek salvation, is 
another peculiarity of Methodism. The propri- 
ety of such a usage, as being in accordance with 
the will of God and meeting his special approba- 
tion, has been demonstrated for a century, by the 
conversion of hundreds of thousands in the use 
of this simple means of grace. While we are 
fully impressed with the truth that " God's ways 
are not our ways," and that he can and does 
convert sinners by the preaching of the Gospel, 
while they are listening to its words of power, — 
that many are converted by the reading of the 
Scriptures and religious books and tracts, and in 
secret and family prayer, &c. ; yet we are also 
assured that hundreds and thousands have been 
converted through this means, who have success- 



92 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

fully resisted the ordinary means, and continued 
in rebellion against God. Multitudes who hear 
the Gospel, and have felt its truths applied to 
their hearts in awakening them to a sense of their 
condition, and have resolved to repent and seek 
salvation, have left the sanctuary, and, anon, 
worldly company and earthly snares have quieted 
their fears and driven away their convictions. It 
might be said of them, they were " not far from 
the kingdom." A crisis, the most interesting in 
all their history, had come. The tide was up, 
while gathering waves of mercy and Christian 
sympathy were all around them. There was but 
a step between them and the kingdom ; but they 
took it not, and the " grieved Spirit " and offered 
mercy receded from them, bearing away peni- 
tence and hope and heaven. It is to meet these 
particular crises, and bring to a decision the trem- 
bling, hesitating sinner, committing him on the 
side of God and religion, that invitations are given 
to approach the mercy-seat. The philosophy of 
this plan none can question, its propriety none 
dare deny, and its utility in the conversion of 
souls thousands upon thousands, on earth and in 
heaven, could fully attest. 

The " anxious seats " and " conference meetings r> 
of other churches give evidence of the estimation 
in which the measure is held by evangelical men. 
By some, who are fearful of getting in advance of 



CLASS-MEETINGS, ETC. 93 

the Spirit, and of interfering with the Divine Sov- 
ereignty and wresting the sceptre from the hands 
of Him who " hath mercy upon whom he will 
have mercy, and whom he will he hardens," this 
" moral machinery," as it is called, is denounced 
in the most unmeasured terms. It is called, by 
such, " a new measure, an invention of man, wild- 
fire, fanaticism," &c, &c, while it is as old as the 
teachings of Paul and Silas, and Peter and Philip. 
To all such we would recommend the reasoning 
of the young man whose eyes were opened by 
the Saviour. When urged to deny the agency 
through which he was restored to sight, and to 
"give God the praise" for, said they, " we know 
that this man is a sinner," he replied, " We know 
that God heareth not sinners ; but if any man be 
a worshipper of God and doeth his will, him he 
heareth." So, if God convert souls in the use of 
this means of grace, it must certainly have his 
sanction. During the exercises at some of these 
meetings for penitents, both in the church and at 
camp-meetings, excesses, we admit, have occurred, 
which neither the ministry nor the membership 
approve, and which could not be prevented or 
controlled entirely. In such times of excitement, 
persons of other churches, out of mere curiosity, 
are drawn to " Methodist meeting;" and all they 
know of Methodism is what they then and there 
learn. They never darken her threshold when 



94 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the ordinary means of grace are used, and the 
river is flowing clear and peacefully in its wonted 
channel; but they wait until they hear of the 
flood, and they rush to see the river extending 
beyond its banks, and bearing upon its bosom all 
the drift-wood in its course. Viewed under these 
aspects, no wonder they join with our enemies in 
associating Methodism with fanaticism. Against 
these excesses Wesley himself loudly protested, 
— as much so as the grave Dr. Green against 
the unnatural "jerkings " among the Presbyte- 
rians of Tennessee. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MODES OF WORSHIP. 
Let all things be done decently and in order. — 1 Cor. xiv. 40. 

In regard to the manner in which the various 
parts of religious worship should be performed, 
whether it related to the observance of the insti- 
tuted or prudential means of grace, Methodism 
allowed the greatest liberty. We have already 
shown that it was the crowning glory of Meth- 
odism that it did not impose any particular mode 
of worship, but left all in the free and unfettered 
exercise of their own judgment and conscience. 
While Wesley adhered to the substance and 
power of religion, he left it to providential cir- 
cumstances to dictate by what mode this was to be 
the best secured. Taking Scripture and the in- 
dications of Providence for his guide, he adopted 
those modes of worship which from time to time 
he considered as best adapted to promote vital 
godliness, being well assured that " the kingdom 
of God did not consist in meats and drinks, but in 
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' , 

As a churchman, he was bound to the liturgy 
with an attachment which only closed with his 



96 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

life. Of that liturgy he said, " it contained the 
best forms of any church in the world;" and 
hence nothing but the clearest conviction of duty 
could have induced him in any respect to deviate 
from the rubrics or rules pertaining to the liturgy 
of the church. What, therefore, is peculiar in 
Methodism as it respects the modes of worship, 
constitutes this departure from the standards 
above alluded to. The first peculiarity to which 
we shall call attention is found in the administra- 
tion of 

THE SACRAMENTS. 

No change was made as it regarded the sub- 
jects or the conditions of Baptism and the Lord's 
Supper ; the only change was in relation to the 
mode. 

In the baptism of infants, the signing with the 
sign of the cross was dispensed with, as also the 
requirement of sponsors, in the persons of god- 
fathers and god-mothers. That part of the liturgy 
which teaches the doctrine of baptismal regener- 
ation was also somewhat modified. The mode 
of baptism, in the case of adults, was left entirely 
at the option of the candidate, who might receive 
the ordinance either by aspersion, effusion, or im- 
mersion. Whether the water be applied to the 
subject, or the subject to the water, is regarded as 
a matter of no consequence whatever. Moses 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 97 

was as effectually baptized in the cloud and in the 
spray of the sea, as Naamanwas in the waters of 
Jordan ; and Nebuchadnezzar was as thoroughly 
baptized with the dew of heaven, as the Eunuch 
in the water of the river. As a mere outward 
sign of an inward spiritual work, the manner of 
it is considered as not worth contending for, 
especially where either mode is right. 

In regard to the administration of the Lord's 
Supper, the same form is used in the consecration 
of the elements, with slight modification and ab- 
breviation as is found in the liturgy of the Church 
of England. To the table of the Lord Metho- 
dists invite all Christians of every name, and the 
elements maybe received in any posture the com* 
municant may desire, whether sitting, standing, 
or kneeling before the altar or beside the altar, in 
the church, or house, or field, or forest. This is 
one of the divinely-appointed means of grace 
which all the members of the church are solemnly 
bound to observe. Though it does not communi- 
cate grace necessarily to those who partake of the 
emblems of the body and blood of Christ, yet it 
is a divinely-constituted medium of grace, and 
whoever receives them by faith discerning the 
Lord's body, will receive spiritual strength and 
comfort. A proper respect for the dying com- 
mand of our Lord and Saviour should prompt us 
so far to conform to his example, in the celebra- 
9 



98 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

tion of this sacrament, as circumstances will ad- 
mit. If it is clear that the bread used by him on 
that occasion was unleavened, and the wine un- 
mixed and unadulterated, we should follow his 
example, as far as we can, to the letter. How 
often have we been pained by receiving at the 
Lord's table bread raised with yeast, salasratus, or 
salt, or shortened with lard or butter, while what 
was called wine resembled vinegar mingled with 
myrrh, more than the pure juice of the grape ! 
After all, it is the thing signified which is essen- 
tial; and, though we may not be able to detect 
the slightest correspondence between the emblems 
and those employed by our Lord and Master, 
still, by faith we may behold the victim. 

PRAYER. 

The next peculiarity we notice is in the man- 
ner of prayer. Wesley, and all his co-laborers, 
invariably used the forms in the book of Common 
Prayer. In the church or field, in the chamber 
of the sick or dying, in college or prison, the 
prayers suited to the occasion were read. The 
following circumstance led him to change his 
mind in this respect. On a certain occasion, he 
visited a man in the Castle at Oxford, under sen- 
tence of death. After preaching from the text, 
" It is appointed unto men once to die," he prayed 



T.IODES OF WORSHIP. 99 

with the condemned man in the use of several 
forms of prayer. The criminal was in much 
heaviness and sorrow, on account of his sins and 
the near approach of death. Wesley, having ex- 
hausted all the forms in the book, poured out his 
soul in words such as his feelings and the state 
of the case prompted. After a while, the man 
rose from his knees and exclaimed, " I am now 
prepared to die ! I know Christ has taken away 
my sins, and there is no more condemnation for 
me." He retained this peace of mind until he 
was launched into eternity. Not long after this, 
Wesley was in a meeting, and his " heart was so 
full," to use his own expression, he could not con- 
fine himself to the forms of prayer, and from that 
time he resolved no longer to be fettered by forms, 
but "with prayer, and supplication, and thanks- 
giving," as the interceding Spirit should give him 
utterance, " make known his requests unto God." 
The idea that a soul, burdened with a sense of 
its own peculiar wants, should be obliged to pour 
out itself to God through channels constructed or 
excavated by man, and that its desires shall flow 
through no other medium to the throne of the 
heavenly grace, is an assumption the most pre- 
posterous. Among the Methodists generally, no 
forms of prayer are used, in the ordinary exercises 
of religious worship, except that prescribed by 
our Lord and Master. 



100 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 



PREACHING. 

We notice another peculiarity, in the manner 
of preaching, among the Methodist clergy. The 
almost universal practice, both among churchmen 
and dissenters, in Wesley's day, was to read dis- 
courses ; and, indeed, extempore preaching con- 
stitutes a striking peculiarity of the Methodist 
Church at the present day. The adoption of 
extempore preaching, like that of extempore 
prayer, was the result of circumstances over 
which Wesley had no control. He went, on a 
certain occasion, to All-hallows Church, Lombard- 
street, London, for the purpose of hearing Dr. 
Heyler preach ; but, from some cause or other, 
the doctor was detained, and the congregation 
disappointed. That the people might not sepa- 
rate without hearing a discourse, the wardens of 
the church called upon Wesley, and requested him 
to preach. But he had neither sermon nor notes, 
and what was to be done ? Must the multitude 
go away unfed, as sheep having no shepherd? 
Believing he was called of God to preach the Gos- 
pel, he entered the desk, took a text, and, with a 
heart fully impressed with a sense of his heavenly 
calling, " preached to them Jesus and the resur- 
rection," as the apostle had done before him in 
the market-place at Athens. The great end of 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 101 

all preaching is to save souls ; and, in the prep- 
aration of sermons for the pulpit, the greatest 
wisdom is necessary in the selection of those sub- 
jects, and their presentation and enforcement, 
which will bring the sinner to the cross, and will 
impart spiritual strength and comfort to the be- 
liever. That the mind of the preacher is brought 
more immediately in contact with his audience 
by extemporaneous preaching, none can doubt; 
and that the effect consequently is more direct 
and palpable, cannot be questioned. By extem- 
pore preaching, it is not to be understood that the 
minister is to depend upon the impulses of the 
moment for what he is to say, nor even for the 
manner in which he is to say it ; this would be 
a species of presumption bordering on fanaticism; 
■ but that he is to elaborate his subjects thoroughly 
in his study, and come to his pulpit as a work- 
man that need not be ashamed, thoroughly fur- 
nished and enabled rightly to divide the word, 
giving to all classes of hearers their portion in 
due season. To do this effectually, he must 
study ; and, as no plan of study will enable him 
to speak with greater ease, clearness, and power, 
than that which is connected with the constant 
committal of his thoughts to writing, or the 
thinking with the pen itself, it is all-important 
that he should write much. The memoriter mode 
of preaching has been adopted by some ministers 
9* 



102 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

of the Methodist Church, but it is entirely too 
slavish to be recommended. 

SINGING. 

Sing with the spirit and the understanding also. — l Cor. 
xiv. 15. 

The following directions were given by Wes- 
ley to all the societies, in relation to congrega- 
tional singing : — 

" 1st. Sing all. See that you join with the con- 
gregation, as frequently as you can. Let not a 
slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder 
you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you 
will find a blessing. 

"2d. Sing lustily, and with good courage. Be- 
ware of singing as if you were half dead or half 
asleep, but lift up your voice with strength. Be 
not afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed 
of its being heard than when you sung the songs 
of Satan. 

" 3d. Sing modestly. Do not bawl so as to be 
heard above or distinct from the rest of the con- 
gregation, that you may not destroy the harmony ; 
but strive to unite voices together, so as to make 
one clear, melodious sound. 

" 4th. Sing in time. Whatever time is suns:, 
be sure to keep with it. Do not run before or 
stay behind it, but attend closely to the leading 



MODES OF -WORSHIP. 103 

voices, and move therewith exactly as you can, 
and take care you sing not too slow. This drawl- 
ing way naturally steals on ail who are lazy ; 
and it is high time to drive it from among us, and 
sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first. 

11 5th. Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye 
to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing 
him, more than yourself or any other creature. 
In order to this, attend strictly to the sense of what 
you sing, and see that your heart is not carried 
away with the sound, but offered to God continu- 
ally ; so shall your singing be such as the Lord 
will approve of here, and reward when he cometh 
in the clouds of heaven." 

The Founder of Methodism was passionately 
fond of church music, and made numerous col- 
lections, and published several editions, of music 
adapted to congregations and choirs, as well as to 
the organ, harpsichord, and other instruments of 
music, besides composing and publishing several 
collections of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. 
He was not only an amateur, but a connoisseur ', 
— a judge as well as a lover of music ; and, as 
singing was regarded by him as an important part 
of divine worship, he labored to impress upon the 
societies everywhere the importance of culti- 
vating a knowledge of this almost sacred art. 

He was unwilling that the praises of the Lord 
should be sung by proxy ; or, in other words, that 



104 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the choir should exclusively perform this part of 
divine worship ; — and hence he encouraged con- 
gregational singing, — not, as we have seen, that 
one should sing in ten only, but that all should 
unite with " spirit and understanding, in praising 
the Lord in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs, making melody in their hearts to the 
Lord." He had a great horror of anthems and 
fugue tunes, and doggerel verse under the name 
of spiritual songs. To prevent this latter, he 
allowed no preacher to sing an}r hymn of his own 
composing. In one of his " conversations " with 
the preacher, he speaks of the impropriety of 
" complex tunes, such as ' Praise the Lord, ye 
blessed ones,' and the long quavering hallelujah 
annexed to the morning-song tune," which, he 
said) " he defied any man living to sing devoutly." 
" The repeating the same words so often, but 
especially while another repeats different words, 
shocks all sense of decency and taste, and has no 
more of religion in it than a Lancashire horn- 
pipe." In recording a visit which he made to 
Chester, he says, " I came just in time to put a 
stop to a bad custom here. A few men, who had 
fine voices, sung a psalm which no one knew, in 
a tune fit for an opera, wherein three, four, or five 
persons sung different words at the same time. 
What an insult upon common sense ! What a 
burlesque on public worship! No custom can 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 105 

excuse such a mixture of profaneness and absurd- 
ity." 

After preaching to a congregation on the Isle 
of Man, he remarks, " Mr. Crook desired me to 
meet the singers. I was agreeably surprised. I 
have not heard better singing at Bristol or Lon- 
don. Many, both men and women, have admira- 
ble voices, and they sing with good judgment." 
A bookseller having compiled a small hymn- 
book for common use in the societies, composed 
mostly of extracts from the collections of Wesley, 
but without his knowledge or consent, he was in- 
duced to revise it and republish it, which he did. 
In the preface to that work he says : " Two years 
ago I published a pocket hymn-book, according to 
my promise, but most of our people were supplied 
already with other hymns ; and these are circu- 
lated still, (alluding to the bookseller's publica- 
tion.) To cut off all pretence from the Methodists 
from buying them, our brethren, in the late con- 
ference at Bristol, advised me to print the same 
book which has been printed at York. This I 
have done in the present volume, only with this 
difference : — First, out of those two hundred 
and thirty-two hymns, I have omitted seven-and- 
thirty. These I did not dare to palm upon the 
world, because fourteen of them appeared to me 
very flat and dull ; fourteen more, mere prose, 
tagged with rhyme ; and nine more to be grievous 



106 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

doggerel. But a friend tells me, ' Some of these, 
especially those two that are doggerel double- 
distilled, namely, 

" The despised Nazarene,'* 

and that which begins, 

" A Christ I have, O, what a Christ have I ! " 

are hugely admired, and continually echoed, 
from Berwick-upon-Tweed to London.' If they 
are, I am sorry for it, as it will bring deep 
reproach upon Methodism. Secondly, I have 
added a considerable number of the best hymns 
we have ever published, although I am sensible 
they will not suit the taste of the doggerel admir- 
ers. " If we mistake not, this language will, 
without any essential variation, suit other lati- 
tudes as well as Berwick and London. 

The practice of lining out the hymn is not 
peculiar to Methodism, and, if it were, we should 
consider it a peculiarity in no ways worthy of 
special notice. It was adopted for several rea- 
sons ; among the most prominent were the scarcity 
of hymn-books in the commencement of the socie- 
ties, and the inability of most of those who 
attended upon the ministry to read, if they even 
had them. The practice is rapidly going out of 
use in many sections of the country; and it is 
hoped, now that the reasons for its adoption and 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 107 

continuance, especially in this country, do not 
exist, except to an exceedingly limited extent, it 
will be dispensed with entirely. 

Choirs and organs have ever been connected 
with Methodism, the Wesleyan Conference only 
reserving the right to say where the latter should 
be introduced. They are vastly less exceptionable, 
in our estimation, and under proper regulations, as 
a mere accompaniment to church music, and cer- 
tainly more in accordance with the true spirit of 
religious worship, than the "horrible discord" 
which we have often heard made in some congre- 
gations, where the very mention of such accom- 
paniments would throw the majority into spasms. 
We take occasion here to remark, that while we 
have no objections to the introduction of organs, 
as instruments peculiarly appropriate to the sanc- 
tuary, and, like the Harp of David, never dese- 
crated to profane uses, we do most sincerely 
object to the promiscuous mingling together of 
flutes, clarinets, and fiddles. There is, to say 
the least of it, a want of taste in such a medley ; 
and the associations connected with the latter 
instrument, especially, are such as to render it 
unfit for a place in the house of God. Instru- 
ments of music, when introduced into such a holy 
place, should have at least " a good report of them 
which are without." An anecdote will illustrate 
our remark. A violinist, connected with the 



108 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

choir of a certain church, having a peculiar attach- 
ment for that instrument, and wishing to have it 
introduced more effectually into religious society, 
if he could not hope to have it baptized with a 
Christian name, suggested to his pastor the pro- 
priety of changing a verse of one of Watts' divine 
psalms. The lines which he wished changed 
read thus, — 

" O may my heart in tune be found, 
Like David's harp of solemn sound." 

He wished him, in reading the psalm, to give the 
following version, — 

" Q, may my heart be tuned within, 
Like David's sacred violin." 

The minister, being rather witty than otherwise, 
and, withal, a good man, after a moment's pause, 
with as much solemnity of manner as the occasion 
would justify, suggested the following, as still 
better, — 

" O, may my heart go diddle diddle, 
Like Uncle Davy's holy riddle." 

" Let all things be done decently and in order," 
is the motto with which we started out in this 
chapter, and it applies with as much force to 
singing or church music as any other part of the 
public worship of God. We have seen the wor- 
ship of God turned into ridicule, by bungling 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 109 

attempts at singing in congregations which have 
written an everlasting veto upon choirs. Once, 
in particular; in a large church, and in a large 
city, we witnessed four unsuccessful attempts to 
raise a tune ; and the preacher, in despair, after 
giving out the first two lines four times, broke the 
tittering on the one hand, and the agony on the 
other, by saying, "Let us pray." An equally 
ludicrous scene occurred in a Presbyterian church, 
in the east, not many years ago. On a pleas- 
ant Sabbath afternoon in summer, the clergyman 
gave out, 

" I love to steal a while away 
From every cumbering care, 
And spend the hour of closing day 
In humble, grateful prayer." 

The regular chorister being absent, the duty 
devolved upon Deacon M -, who commenced, 

" I love to steal " 

and then bagged down. Raising his voice to a 
still higher pitch, he sung, 

' f I love to steal " 

and, as before, concluded he had got the wrong 
pitch, and, deploring he had not his pitch-pipe, he 
determined to succeed, if he died in the attempt. 
By this time, there was a universal tittering, 
and the ladies hid their faces behind their fans. 
10 



110 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

After a desperate cough, he at length made a 
final demonstration, and roared out, 

" I love to steal a M 

•This effort was too much ; every one but the par- 
son was completely overcome, who rose from his 
seat, and with utmost gravity said, " This is 
much to be regretted ; let us pray." 

All this may be obviated, in the Methodist 
Church, by the observance of our rules on this 
subject, which require us to cultivate the science 
of music. The church has now as admirable a 
collection of hymns as can be found in any 
denomination, and the whole musical world is 
before her, what to choose, and common sense her 
guide. The Discipline gives instructions in 
regard to the formation of singing societies, and 
the contributions made, from time to time, by pro- 
fessional teachers, to our musical department in 
the Book Concern, are unsurpassed for melody 
and expression, the " Handel and Haydn Society " 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

SITTING IN CHURCH. 

The following " Conversation," containing ad- 
vices in regard to the building of houses, and 
worship therein, will show what mode of sitting 
was regarded by Wesley, in view of the times in 
which he lived, and the circumstances by which. 



MODES OF WORSHIP. Ill 

he was surrounded, as best adapted to promote 
the spiritual welfare of the infant societies which, 
through his labors and those of his associates, 
were springing up in all parts of the country. 

"1st. Build all preaching houses, where the 
ground will permit, in the octagon form. It is 
best for the voice, and on many accounts more 
commodious than any other. 

"2d. Why should not an octagon house be 
built after the model of Yarm ; any square house 
after the model of Bath or Scarborough ? Can 
we find any better model ? 

"3d. Let the roof rise only one third of its 
breadth. This is the true proportion. 

" 4th. Have doors and windows enough, and 
let all the windows be sashes opening down- 
wards. 

" 5th. Let there be no Chinese paling, and no 
tub-pulpit, but a square projection, with a long 
seat behind. 

" 6th. Let there be no pews, and no backs to 
the seats, which should have aisles on each side, 
and be parted in the middle by a rail running all 
along, to divide the men from the women, 

" Question 64. Is there any exception to the 
rule, ' Let the men and women sit apart ' ? V 

" Answer. In those galleries where they have 
always sat together, they may do so still ; but let 



112 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

them sit apart everywhere below, and in all newly- 
erected galleries.^ 

" But how can we secure this sitting apart ? I 
must do it myself. If I come into any new 
house, and see the men and women together, 1 
will immediately go out. I hereby give public 
notice of this pray let it be observed. 

"But there is a worse indecency than this 
creeping in among us, — talking in the preaching 
houses before and after service." 

There must have been strong reasons existing 
in the mind of Wesley, to justify him in the 
course which he took in regard to promiscuous 
sitting; and, from the tone of his language in 
relation thereto, we infer that it was the occasion 
of indecencies little inferior to "talking in the 
church before and after service," as well as other 
nuisances. From the practice which is alluded 
to, in the next question, as being indulged in by 
the members of the societies at that time, we 
should be led most obviously to infer, that the 
observance of the requirement in regard to sitting 
in the church was appropriate; that it was a 
regulation suggested by the times, and adapted to 
the peculiar tastes and habits of the people, as the 

* The galleries were differently constructed from those in 
our churches, and bore a greater resemblance to the boxes 
and parquets in a theatre, with the pit below, than our long, 
open seats. 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 113 

fact above alluded to abundantly shows. The 
gathering together of such multitudes, among 
whom were many attracted by improper motives, 
and encouraged to lawless acts by the dignitaries 
of church and state, who regarded the Method- 
ists as deluded fanatics, and barely to be tolerated 
in their ecclesiastico-revolutionary movements, 
would necessarily produce a state of things which 
would in their very nature require that the men 
and women should sit apart. 

" Certain lewd fellows, of the baser sort," 
annoyed the Apostle Paul and his coadjutors ; and 
our camp-meetings in this country, where even 
law protects us, are beset by innumerable hordes 
of vandals of this description, sometimes proving 
so outrageous in their conduct as to break them 
up entirely. A religious excitement in the 
church will always attract multitudes, whose 
respect for law and themselves is only secured by 
fear of its penalty. Every Methodist is aware of 
the abuse which, as a church, we have suffered, 
and still suffer, by such as neither fear God nor 
• regard men. The least excitement at the altar 
is the signal for their mounting the benches, 
crowding the aisles, and encroaching on the 
female side of the congregation. In churches 
where families sit together, no disorder of this 
kind ever has or ever will be seen. The most 
powerful and extensive revivals have been carried 
10* 



114 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

on in pewed houses, and the minds of the minis- 
ters and members have not been distracted by 
disorderly proceedings, while laboring at the 
altar with- seekers of salvation. We have known 
churches obliged to adopt this system, in sheer 
self-defence, who had no sympathy for pews, and 
who, after having tried it, would not abandon it 
for any consideration. We have heard of some 
churches, in other denominations, abandoning the 
pew system, or rather making their seats free, 
obviously for the purpose of attracting a congre- 
gation; but in these churches there is no change 
in the mode of sitting. Families sit together as 
before ; — the only difference is that the seats 
they occupy have not been purchased or rented. 
To offer this as a reason why Methodists should 
in all cases, without any exception, require the 
" men and women to sit apart," is ridiculous in 
the extreme, because there is not the least analogy 
in the cases whatever. To say that the sitting 
together in families prevents the Gospel from 
reaching the masses, forms classes in society, 
arrays the rich against the poor, is the argu- 
mentum ad captandum vulgus of those who, 
terribly pressed for want of rational argument, 
are driven to such miserable cant. We invite to 
our churches families, parents and children, and 
we exhort these families to bring with them all 
who are in any way connected with their house- 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 115 

hold, that there may be none left without the 
means of grace and the ordinances of God's 
house ; and, instead of not reaching- the masses, 
we honestly believe it is the most successful way 
in which they are reached by the Gospel. And 
are the poor excluded ? Nay, the poorest family 
in the city is invited to come and take a pew on 
a perfect equality with his rich brother, where, 
together, they may worship the same God and 
Father, and enjoy the communion common to all 
saints. 

The rule of Wesley most certainly could have 
no relation whatever to the sitting together of 
families inasmuch as the churches were built 
without pews, and the seats had neither backs 
nor doors. To secure an improvement in the 
societies in regard to the observance of proprie- 
ties in the house of God as the numbers increased 
and Methodism became more established, and the 
frequent importunities of the members in different 
parts of the country, induced Wesley to change 
his mind in regard to sitting; and though he had 
emphatically declared he would leave any of the 
houses of worship where he saw the men and 
women sitting together, he lived to go in and out 
with comfort in his own church — the City Road 
Chapel — which was pewed throughout for many 
years before his death. 

When the subject of pews was before the 



116 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, in 1840, Dr. Bascom called upon Dr. 
Newton, the delegate from the Wesleyan Con- 
nection, to state what was the practice of that 
connection in regard to this matter. He replied 
that " their churches universally were pewed, and 
he did not suppose that Mr. Wesley disliked it." 
In answer to a similar question, proposed to Dr. 
Dixon, the delegate from the British Conference 
to the General Conference, in 1848, we have the 
following : — "In general, I would say, the Great 
Head of the Church has left this matter an open 
question, to be settled by the good sense and 
piety of his living church. As far as I know, I 
now speak the sentiments of our people in gen- 
eral ; in fact, we never hear anything on the sub- 
ject of free churches as an abstract question. The 
rule respecting free places of worship, and the 
men and women sitting apart, has been, in this 
country, obsolete for many years. My belief is, 
that it sunk into desuetude gradually. We have 
no rule to supersede the old practice, and it has 
never been made a subject of specific legislation ; 
each place adopting, as to pews and free sittings, 
the principle most suited to their own local cir- 
cumstances. But none of our chapels are now 
entirely free. 

" This practice of erecting pews in chapels 
certainly obtained in Mr. Wesley's time. I will 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 117 

give one instance, that of City Road Chapel, Lon- 
don. This place of worship was built in 1777, — 
that is, thirteen or fourteen years before the death 
of Mr. Wesley, — and it was pewed from the 
beginning. There were, unquestionably, many 
other instances, but I mention this one, inasmuch 
as City Road was, at the time in question, the prin- 
cipal chapel in Methodism in this country, and is 
still looked up to as the Mother Church." 

The custom of sitting by families has been 
introduced quite extensively into the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in this country. It prevails 
especially in all the Atlantic Conferences ; and in 
more than two thirds of all the Conferences in 
the connection, to a greater or less extent, pewed 
houses of worship are found. The mode of sitting 
in a church is a matter which most evidently 
belongs to the congregation, as much so, to say 
the least of it, as the location, size, plan, and char- 
acter, of the church itself. It is enough that our 
brethren erect churches, and by deed convey to 
the Conference not only all right thereto, but 
.relinquish all right either in calling or reniov- / 
ing their pastors, without requiring them to yield 
the small privilege of saying how they shall sit 
during worship. That the majority, who conceive 
it to be more comfortable for themselves, and 
more beneficial to their families, in enabling them 
more effectually to secure their attendance upon 



118 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the worship of God, and bringing them more 
immediately under their care, and also under the 
influence of the ministrations of the Gospel, 
should not be allowed this privilege, is an 
assumption not only not authorized by the word 
of God, but emphatically denounced therein, and 
a species of usurpation and tyranny, which, of all 
churches under heaven, the Methodist Church 
should be the last to sanction. 

But here we are met with the miserable cant 
of " aristocracy." " You are setting up an aris- 
tocracy." "What will become of the poor?" 
"Is not Methodism designed for the poor?" &c. 
&c. From such cant, one would infer that those 
pious souls, who have such a regard for the poor, 
would have the community believe that if families 
sit together in the house of God, the poor will be 
excluded; when it is a fact that in all pewed 
Methodist churches the poor are not only the 
most specially provided for with seats on an 
equality with the richest, but they are generally 
more looked after, and certainly better provided 
for in regard to temporal things. One would 
think, to hear the sympathetic harangues of such 
in behalf of the poor, that the Gospel was not 
designed for any other class. We readily admit 
that the mission of Methodism was chiefly to the 
poor, and, at first, the lower classes, who had 
been shut out of the cathedrals and churches, 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 119 

where gorgeous apparel and pompous display for- 
bade dieir entrance to the sanctuary ; and that 
such as had thus been neglected composed the 
multitudes that flocked to the fields and mines of 
Kingswood and Cornwall, and to the huge Found- 
ery, where, at five o'clock in the morning, and 
seven o'clock in the evening — being the hours 
when they were released from their toils — they 
for the first time heard the Gospel from men who 
cared for their souls. Here, of course, they had no 
pews, and all the benches were of the same rude 
construction. To say that this feature of primi- 
tive Methodism shall be so inflexibly adhered to 
that families shall not be allowed to sit together, 
and there shall be no exception to the rule, not 
even in large cities, where there are numerous 
Methodist churches, and all are accommodated, is 
a species of bigotry and fanaticism worthy the 
dark ages of the old, or the blue ages of the new 
world. It cannot be that Methodism has so far 
lost the spirit of freedom which her founder 
claimed as her chief glory, or her faculty of 
accommodation in things wholly non-essential to 
the progressive movements of the age. All that 
the ministry should ask is the free and unfettered 
exercise of their rights, as servants of Christ, to 
preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, 
and secure the purity of the church, by the exer- 
cise of a calm but vigorous discipline, while, at 



120 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

the same time, they are liberally supported by the 
church, and entirely beyond her reach, so far as 
amenability is concerned, in the exercise of their 
functions. If, as Wesley observed, " the sum 
and substance of all true religion consists in holi- 
ness of heart, and not in orthodoxy of opinion, or 
rigid adherence to set forms of worship," surely 
the assumption that a mere advisory regulation in 
regard to the mode of sitting in the congregation, 
which is not supported by the slightest shadow 
of authority in the Word of God, and which, in 
the estimation of many, has a tendency to prevent 
the accomplishment of the great end of. Method- 
ism, namely, the " spreading of Scriptural holi- 
ness among all classes of the community," is 
unwarranted, and directly contrary to the genius 
of the church. The very liberty for which 
Wesley contended with so much zeal, would 
secure the utmost freedom to our congregations 
in this respect. It is susceptible of the clearest 
demonstration, that a rigid and indomitable 
adherence to matters entirely non-essential to the 
purity and prosperity of Methodism, by men of 
contracted views or furious zeal, has, in many 
instances, driven away from her fold many who 
would otherwise have been highly useful to the 
church. Though we would be far from attempt- 
ing to array the clergy against the laity, or the 
laity against the clergy, yet we speak advisedly 



MODES OF WORSHIP. 121 

when we say that nine tenths of the opposition 
to pewed houses of worship has not only been 
gotten up by them, but doggedly sustained by a 
zeal in every way worthy of a better cause. The 
assumption that Methodism is less primitive and 
pure in the old world, or in the eastern and 
northern portions of the new, where the pew 
system prevails generally, than it is in the West 
and South* where that system is denounced as 
anti- Judaic, anti-Christian, anti-Method istic, and 
anti-democratic, betrays a bigotry or a want of 
information deplorable in the extreme. In all 
essential things, we would say, with Augustin, 
let there be unity ; in non-essentials, let there be 
liberty; and, in all things, charity. 

* Recent intelligence informs us that in several prominent 
cities of the South the Methodists have adopted the pew 
system ; and we are sure it will prevail in all the cities of the 
Union, to a greater or less extent, before many years, while the 
rule requiring the " men and women to sit apart," which we 
believe never was designed to apply to families, will either 
be stricken from the Discipline, modified to suit the demands 
of the church, or become obsolete, as it has in the entire 
Wesleyan Connection, and in twenty out of twenty-nine Con- 
ferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The time was 
when a Methodist preacher in one of the oldest and largest 
churches of the West could thank God he had never been to 
college, and a hearty amen was responded to the declaration ; 
but a similar declaration would hardly be tolerated now in 
that " Gibraltar of Methodism." 
11 



CHAPTER VIII. 

MISSION OF METHODISM. 

They went everywhere preaching the word. — Acts viii. 4. 

That Methodism possesses more of the aggress- 
iveness of primitive Christianity than perhaps 
any other church, would not be regarded as an 
invidious comparison by those who have made 
themselves thoroughly acquainted with her genius, 
and the nature and extent of her operations. The 
vis incita, in opposition to the vis inertia, which 
characterized the churches in Wesley's day, con- 
stituted then, as it does now, one of her essential 
properties, Constant and unwearied activity, in 
the exploration and cultivation of new fields, has 
marked her career for more than a century ; and 
yet we are disposed to think that the mission 
which Providence designed her to fulfil, in the 
conversion of the world, has not been fully appre- 
ciated either by her membership or ministry. 
Wesley and his associates were, in the providence 
of God, thrust out for the purpose of lifting up a 
standard against the aggressions of sin, and rais- 
ing a barrier to the overflowings of worldliness, 
which for years had been pouring in upon the 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 123 

church. By preaching the doctrine of experi- 
mental religion, and resorting to all the means of 
grace which would beget and foster a spiritual 
life, they sought to awaken the church from her 
lethargic state, and bring her back to her first life 
and love. The apostle Paul did not love with 
more sincerity his Jewish brethren, nor labor more 
zealously to bring them to Christ, than did Wes- 
ley love the church, and labor to restore her prim- 
itive spirituality. But, like that faithful apostle, 
Wesley found his deadliest foes and greatest op- 
position in his Father's house and among his 
brethren. The doors of usefulness being closed 
upon him, he was thrown out upon the world, and 
he immediately entered upon the wide parish to 
which he was in the providence of God appointed. 
He no sooner saw clearly the indications of what 
was designed as his future course, than he en- 
tered upon it ; and, if possible, with greater zeal 
and faith addressed himself to the work of calling 
sinners to repentance. 

Here commenced his aggressive movements 
upon the territories of darkness and corruption, 
without the pale of the church. England, the 
Isle of Man, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, were 
visited, and the sound of a Gospel, fresh and warm 
from the hearts of those who had experienced its 
saving efficacy, was heard by thousands who oth- 



124 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

erwise would have continued unawakened by its 
sound and unsaved by its power. 

In answering the question, " What is the true 
mission of Christianity ? " one has said, " To 
espouse the interests of the masses, to seek their 
enlightenment, their happiness, their elevation in 
society to their proper social and political position 
and rights." There is in this no danger of a rad- 
icalism subverting the established order of things, 
arraying the poor against the rich, and fusing all 
the existing distinctions of society into one vast 
mass of Communism. It is one of the chiefest glo- 
ries of Christianity, that it levels up, as well as 
levels down ; that it raises up the poor and lowly, 
the degraded and down-trodden, by requiring that 
they should be treated as men, with proper sym- 
pathy and kindness, and furnished with the means 
of self-education, on the part of those whose po- 
sition is more favorable. The great Author of 
Christianity was one of the people, — born of 
poor and humble parents, brought up to labor, and 
all his life long associated, not with the aristocracy 
and the rich, but with the poor and humble. And 
whilst the rich and the great, for the most part, 
turned away with scorn from his heavenly in- 
structions, the " common peojile" we are told, 
" heard him gladly." 

It will not be claiming too much for Methodism 
to say, that, in the very commencement of her 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 



125 



mission, her attention was directed to the " com- 
mon people," — the poor, down-trodden, uncared- 
for masses in the cellars, and garrets, and mines, 
and manufactories, and highways, of the towns 
and cities of the country of her birth ; and, in the 
erection of her schools among the colliers of 
Kings wood, and the more recent establishment 
of what are denominated, in England, " ragged 
schools," she has given the clearest demonstration 
of her regard for the poor and friendless masses. 

It is a remarkable fact, that Wesley no sooner 
heard of the movement of Raikes, in Gloucester, 
for the education of poor children on the Sabbath- 
day, than he at once recommended the plan to all 
his societies, and Sunday-schools were established 
" wherever ten children could be found, in one 
place, willing to attend." Another remarkable 
fact, and one which had an important bearing 
upon the Sunday-school enterprise in general, is 
worthy of notice. While teachers were em- 
ployed in other Sunday-schools, and paid for their 
services, the Methodists engaged in this work 
without fee or reward, except what they received 
in spiritual blessings from the great Shepherd and 
Bishop of souls. 

That the poorest and most abandoned should 

not be shut out, on account of their poverty, 

from the merciful provisions of the Gospel, 

no preacher was allowed, under any circum- 

11* 



V 



126 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

stances, to receive a fee for attending to the 
ordinance of baptism, or for their services in the 
burial of the dead ; and thus the poorest could 
claim their services on an equality with the rich- 
est. The bodies, as well as the souls of men, 
were cared for in the economy of Methodism. To 
relieve the wants of the poor, special provision 
was made, and plans were adopted specifically 
designed to meet every case of distress. The 
Methodists did not wait until the half-starved 
mother, with her tattered children, knocked at 
their doors for relief; but they divided the cities 
and towns into districts, and threaded their way 
into the alleys and streets, to find out their mis- 
erable abodes. The rule of Wesley for the gov- 
ernment of all the members was, " 1st, get all you 
can by honest industry ; 2d, save all you can by 
prudent economy ; and, 3d, give all you can with 
Christian liberality." Of this, he was himself a 
remarkable example. Resolving to be his own 
executor, he expended his entire income in acts 
of charity and benevolence. The King's Com- 
missioners, at one time, supposing that a gentle- 
man of his circumstances and position in society 
would certainly have a considerable amount of 
plate, and wondering why he had not made a 
return of it for taxation, addressed certain in- 
quiries in relation thereto. The laconic but 
touching reply of Wesley was, " I have two 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 127 

spoons, one at Bristol and the other at London ; 
and I cannot afford to have any more plate, while 
so many poor are around me crying for bread." 
What a comment was this upon the rich livings 
of the clergy of the Establishment ! The con- 
stant reproof administered by the zeal and self- 
denial of Wesley and his co-laborers, as might be 
expected, excited the ire of an indolent, ease- 
loving, and pleasure-seeking clergy, and the whole 
nomenclature of billingsgate was heaped upon 
them by all the reviews, journals, and papers of 
the Establishment. Southey says, " Wesley was 
derided, and he became the subject of satire and 
contumely ; but he had obtained a reputation and 
notoriety which enabled him to disregard them. 
The very attacks made upon him only proved 
that he was a conspicuous mark, and stood upon 
high ground." 

The Rev. Sydney Smith, — educated by the 
Established Church, and appointed to a curacy in 
the middle of Salisbury Plain, but being invited 
by the Squire of the parish, " who took a fancy 
to him," to go on a visit with his son to Germany, 
he turned aside on his way, as he tells us, and 
" put in at Edinburgh, to cultivate literature upon 
a little oat-meal," — this young Smith, of elevated 
thought, in the ninth story of Mr. Jeffrey's house, 
one day proposed that " they should set up a Re- 
view, which was acceded to with acclamation." 



128 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

He — that is to say, Smith the Rev. Sydney — ~ 
was appointed editor. After editing the first 
number, it fell into the hands of Mr Jeffrey, he 
(Smith) continuing his contributions while re- 
siding in Edinburgh, and for many years after 
his return to England. In the year 1839 he says 
he " was foolish enough to collect and publish his 
contributions." In regard to these contributions, 
he says " he has nothing to alter or repent of, 
nothing to retract, and no intemperance or vio- 
lence to charge himself with." 

Among these papers we find two on Meth- 
odism, which, we are constrained to say, for scur- 
rility, transcend the lowest and most vulgar 
twaddle of the pot-house or the fish-market. To 
quote his language, would be an offence against 
decency. But, as " Fas est ab hoste doceri" we 
shall present the reader with a few items which 
serve to show what Methodism was in the estima- 
tion of one whose bitterness would 

" Outvenom all the insects of the Nile." 

In his first article, which is a review of the 
" Causes of the Increase of Methodism, by Rob- 
ert Acldam Ingram, B. D.," we find the following 
grave charges against this "second edition of 
Puritanism " : — 

" 1st. The Methodists believe in a special Prov- 
idence. 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 129 

" 2d. They believe in internal emotions wrought 
by the Spirit of God ; i. e., that the Spirit of God 
does produce spiritual emotions in the heart. 

" 3d. They are opposed to theatres, calling them 
hot-beds of vice ; and to cards, and dancing, and . 
parties of pleasure. 

" 4th. They preach salvation by faith alone, 
and not by works of righteousness. 

"5th. They are desirous of making men more 
religious than the constitution of human nature 
warrants. 

" 6th. The doctrine of the Methodists is calcu- 
lated to gain power and influence among the 
poor." 

To each and all, or to all and singular, of these 
charges, if we were allowed to speak in behalf of 
Methodism everywhere, we should rejoice to 
plead guilty. And what evangelical denomina- 
tion in this country would not esteem it an 
equally high privilege ? 

These charges constituted the rabid fanaticism 
of Wesley and Whitefield. They believed that 
14 all things wrought together for good to them 
that love God ;" — that the Spirit of God in their 
hearts produced " all good thoughts and holy de- 
sires ;" — they " loved not the world nor the things 
of the world ;" and hence, theatres, and cards, and 
dancing, were not the objects of their delight, but 
delusive snares of the devil. They believed that 



130 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

men were "justified by faith without the deeds of 
the law," and that "by the deeds of the law no 
man living could be justified." They believed 
that men must have more religion than nature, or 
education, or baptism, or confirmation, or the 
eucharist, could impart, as " that which is born 
of the fiesh is flesh;" — and hence it was not 
only possible, but they were commanded, to seek 
for " the washing of regeneration and the renew- 
ing of the Holy Ghost." 

And, finally, their visits to the " poor, the sick, 
the maimed, the halt and the blind," and the zeal 
and interest which they manifested for their sal- 
vation, while the Established Church, like the 
Priest and Levite, stood aloof from the wretched 
hovels, and had no ear for their lamentations, were 
calculated to win their hearts, and give them an 
influence that regal and ecclesiastical authority 
never could gain. 

But, says this Reverend reviewer, " What 
shall be done to suppress this fanaticism ? That 
it has increased rapidly, within these few years, 
we have no manner of doubt ; and we confess we 
cannot see what is likely to impede its progress. 
The party which it has formed in the legislature, 
and the artful neutrality with which they give 
respectability to their small number, — the talents 
of some of this party, and the unimpeached ex 
cellence of their character, — all make it probable 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 131 

that fanaticism will increase rather than dimin- 
ish. The Methodists have made an alarming 
inroad into the Church, and they are attacking 
the army and navy. The principality of Wales, 
and the East India Company, they have already 
acquired. All mines and subterranean places 
belong to them. They creep into hospitals and 
small schools, and so work their way upwards ; 
and it will excite in us no manner of surprise, if 
a period arrives when the churches of the sober 
and orthodox part of the English clergy are com- 
pletely deserted by the middling and lower classes 
of the community." — " If this fanaticism con- 
tinues," he adds, " happiness will be destroyed, 
reason deserted, religion banished, and a long 
period of the grossest immorality, atheism, and 
debauchery, will succeed." But " how shall it 
be cured ? " He would not recommend its sup- 
pression by law, for experience had taught the 
English people that conscience could not be 
trodden out by legal enactments. He suggests a 
resort, usually looked to when physical force and 
reason fail. " We must ply it with ridicule" 
In the mean time, he strongly hints the propriety 
of instructing the clergy of the Church to be more 
animated in their preaching, and that the articles 
be so relaxed as to admit of a greater variety of 
Christians within her pale. But " the greatest 
and best of all remedies," he says, " is the educa- 



132 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

tion of the poor" He " was astonished that the 
Established Church of England was not awake 
to these means of arresting the progress of Meth- 
odism." He might have known that, if " the 
Established Church of England " had only at- 
tended to " these things " as the Great Head of 
the church commands, the necessity for the very 
existence of Methodism would have been ques- 
tionable. 

It was the aggressiveness of the spirit of Meth- 
odism which aroused and irritated the clergy of 
the Establishment. Had they been left to sleep 
in their sins, unawakened, and to enjoy their sin- 
ful pleasures unrebuked, Wesley and his " conse- 
crated cobblers," " canting hypocrites," and " rav- 
ing enthusiasts," would have been too far beneath 
their notice, and too low for contempt. Had not 
their holy lives, and honest zeal for the salvation 
of their fellow-men, presented itself in such glar- 
ing contrast with the immorality and indifference 
of the clergy around them, they would have been 
unworthy of persecution. Una wed by threats, 
unterrified by mobs, and unmoved by scorn, the 
invincible band of Methodist preachers, coming 
up from the lower and middle walks of life, and, 
like their divine Master, being one with the 
"common people," moved on in the one great 
work assigned them, of " exhorting sinners to flee 
the wrath to eome, and be saved from their sins." 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 133 

The large heart of Methodism not only throbbed 
with sympathy for the wants and woes of the 
dying thousands in her midst, but her love for 
God and his cause extended beyond her own 
borders. She extended her labors to America ; 
and in the cities, towns, states and territories, of 
this vast continent, her ministers w T ent every- 
where preaching the word. Literally without 
purse or scrip, for there was then no society for 
the promotion of missions within her pale, they 
travelled, on horseback and on foot, from Maine 
to Georgia, and from the Atlantic to the Missis- 
sippi, and in the dense forests and wide prairies 
and rude cabins of this new and unsettled country 
they offered salvation to their dying fellow-men. 
The Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
States, w 7 ith its six hundred thousand communi- 
cants; the Methodist Episcopal Church South, 
with an almost equal number; the Church in 
the Canadas ; the missions among the Germans, 
Indians, Swedes, Norwegians, and Portuguese; 
the missions to Oregon, California, New Mexico, 
South America, Liberia, Germany, and China, 
in connection with the achievements of the Wes- 
leyan and Protestant Methodists, with all the 
vast instrumentalities combined in this agency 
for the conversion of the world, sprung from her 
mighty heart in England. 

The eye of Dr. Coke fell upon Ceylon, in the 
12 



134 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

Indian Ocean, and his heart yearned to hear the 
messages of mercy to the Ceylonese. No sooner 
had the missionaries who survived him erected 
the standard of the cross on that beautiful and 
fragrant island, than they crossed over to Conti- 
nental India, and commenced operations at Mad- 
ras, Bangalore, Seringapatam, Negapatam, Cal- 
cutta, and Bombay, extending their operations to 
China and Indo-Chinese countries. In British 
North America they established missions at Nova 
Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Hondu- 
ras, and other places. In the West Indies, at 
Antigua, St. Vincent's, St. Christopher's, Barba- 
does, Hayti, Tortola, Jamaica, Bermuda, the 
Bahamas, St. Domingo, St. Eustatius, Nevis, 
Grenada, St. Bartholomew, Anguilla, St. Mar- 
tin's, Tobago, Montserrat, and Demarara. 

In South Africa, the districts of Capetown, Lit- 
tle Namaqualand, the Bechuana Country, Albany, 
Caffraria, and other places among the benighted 
sons of Ham, were visited by Methodist mission- 
aries, and the Gospel was preached to the natives in 
the demonstration of the Spirit, and attended with 
a power which converted the soul. In Western 
Africa, at Sierra Leone, St. Mary's, on the river 
Gambia, and along the Gold Coast, and in the 
interior, the word of the Lord, through their 
instrumentality, had free course, and was glori- 
fied. 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 135 

In the South Seas, at New South Wales, Van 
Diemen's Land, the Friendly Islands, New Zea- 
land, Australia, Marquesas, Fejee, Ena, Habai, 
Keppels Nuva-fo-ou, Rotumah, Tonga, Va-vau, 
"Wallis' Island, and others, where every species 
of depravity existed in its most repulsive forms, 
the spirit of Methodism has found its way, and 
prompted the most untiring and self-denying 
labors in behalf of these perishing souls. 

In the Mediterra?iean, at Gibraltar, Malta, 
Alexandria, Zante, and Palestine, among the 
ancient Gospel lands, where Jesus and his apos- 
tles lived, labored, suffered, and died, the name 
of "Methodist " is heard, and the same Gospel is 
preached. 

In Europe, returning to the land of its birth, 
we find her missionaries in Sweden, in France, 
Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, the Norman Isles, 
Wales, Shetland, and other places. Of thefou?'~ 
teen hundred and thirty-eight missionaries sent 
out of England by the Established Church, the 
Scotch Churches, the Society for Converting the 
Jews, the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- 
pel in Foreign Parts, the Baptist Society, the 
London Missionary Society, and all other socie- 
ties put together, Methodism, unconnected with 
the state, and unsupported hy glebes and tithes, 
furnishes eight hundred and sixty-eight, nearly 
two thirds of the whole number. To keep up 



136 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

her various missionary operations, more than half 
a million of dollars is annually poured into hei 
treasury, the most of which is contributed in 
small sums, weekly, by hard-working men and 
women, who, with gladness, come up to the help 
of the Lord, in extending the Redeemer's kingdom 

" Far as the dove's light pinion 
Or eagle's wing can soar." 

Notwithstanding all this, when we take into the 
account the whole family of Methodism, and are 
fully impressed with the belief that no church 
has shown more vigor in her missionary opera- 
tions, or used more rigid economy in carrying 
them forward, especially in this country, where 
Jive hundred domestic and foreign missionaries 
have been supported, at an expense of only one 
hundred thousand dollars, a considerable amount 
of which was expended in outfits, transportations, 
and mission-houses, we are equally well con- 
vinced that her resources as a church, both as it 
regards means and men, have been but partially 
developed. Without a disposition to "boast of 
things beyond our measure," or to claim for 
Methodism a preeminency over all other churches 
in the purity of her doctrines, the soundness of 
her government, the propriety of her worship, or 
the zeal of her ministry, we must be allowed to 
suggest that her genius is better adapted to car- 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 137 

rying the Gospel into destitute settlements, and 
the conversion of the heathen in foreign lands, 
than that of any other church. 

While others spend years upon years in locat- 
ing their missions, studying the language of the 
natives, writing grammars and lexicons, trans- 
lating the Scriptures, catechisms, articles of reli- 
gion, confessions of faith, tracts, &c, and en- 
gaged in the laborious process of indoctrination 
previous to conversion, Methodism learns the 
vernacular, and bears the simple story of the cross 
to the heart, and presses the immediate acceptance 
of Christ and his salvation. 

No dull moral lessons, or catechetical training, 
will drive the idolater from his gods. " Christ 
crucified," pressed home upon the conscience 
from the fulness of a regenerated heart, melting 
with the love of Gethsemane and Calvary, will 
prove the power of God unto salvation. The 
plan is, conversion first, indoctrination afterwards. 
The grace-softened heart can readily be moulded 
into Christian form by sound teaching. The en- 
tire church itself is but a missionary organiza- 
tion, sending out its energies in all directions, not 
for purposes of worldly aggrandizement, but for 
the salvation of the lost of every land. 

When she commenced her operations, but a 
small portion of the heathen world, with its six 
hundred and fifty millions of sin-ruined souls, 
12* 



138 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

was open to the missionary, while the false prophet 
held undisputed sway over one hundred million 
more. Over all this world of ancient night, the 
vision could only be relieved by the faint rays of 
a few feeble stars, struggling through intervening 
clouds of gloom. Paganism and Mahometanism 
were intrenched in their strong-holds throughout 
the immense continents of Asia, Africa, Hither 
and Further Polynesia; but now, from the Great 
Altai to Malacca, and from the Mediterranean to 
the Cape of Good Hope, together with all the 
islands of the sea, the cross may be planted along- . 
side of the pagoda and the mosque. The entire 
heathen world has already been taken, and yields 
itself a willing captive to Christianity. The 
writings of Confucius in China, and of Zoroas- 
ter in Persia, the Vedas and Shasters of India, 
and the Koran of Arabia and Egypt, are losing 
their power over the minds and consciences of 
men. Their gods have become superannuated, 
and will fall before the Bible, of every land and 
language, as Dagon before the Ark of the living 
God. Romanism, too, with her blasphemous 
usurpations and lying vanities, is decrepit with 
age, and tottering on to her destiny. The dis- 
semination of Bible truth in the very citadel of 
her power has waked her down-trodden masses 
from the sleep of centuries, and all the arms of 
Russia, Austria, France, and Italy, will be as the 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 139 

hosts of Assyria before the breath of the Lord. 
" The brightness of his coming, and the word of 
his mouth," will sever all " Holy Alliances," as 
flax at the touch of fire. The whole Heathen, 
^Mahometan, and Papal world is all "white 
unto harvest," and ripe for the sickle ; and woe 
betide that church which, at this crisis, " comes 
not up to the help of the Lord against the mighty !" 
Suppose the " man of sin " has uttered his " great 
swelling " anathemas against the Bible and the 
missionary, and possesses the power to burn the 
one and incarcerate the other ; — the martyr spirit 
in the church should prove itself adequate to all 
emergencies, and be prepared to breast his curses 
and brave his fines and prisons. The command 
of the Lord Jesus Christ is, to march on in the 
face of the foe. That Christian soldier counts 
his life too dear, and estimates its cost too highly, 
who will not volunteer, even in a " forlorn hope," 
to rescue the spoils from this enemy of God and 
the rights of man. We should consider ourselves 
unworthy a name or a place in the ranks of his 
army, if we had not the heart to offer ourselves, 
humble though we be, as a sacrifice, if necessary, 
to the great cause in which we have engaged. 
What are the threats of an imbecile old man, or 
the bristling bayonets or thundering cannon of a 
hireling army? Are they insurmountable obsta- 
cles in the way of him who "sitteth in the 



140 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM, 

heavens," and taketh nations in his hands and 
dashes them to pieces like earthen vessels ? 
Should these threatening aspects be regarded by 
the church as indications of Providence, forming 
sufficient reasons for her inaction ? The sluggish 
watchman, in the gloomy night of despondency, 
may say, " My Lord delayeth his coming," when 
his coming can alone be " hastened " by that 
preparation which he has commanded the church 
to make. 

" The heathen is to be given to Christ for an 
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for his possession." But how ? By a simple act 
of the divine sovereignty, or by their conversion 
through the agency of the church ? Who can 
doubt the ability of the church to go and possess 
all lands in the name of Jesus, when God has 
promised to give her strength, and assured her 
of an ever-present, omnipotent adjutancy? The 
select men of Gideon, when the enemy was as 
numerous as grasshoppers in the summer field, 
with their pitchers and lamps, and the watch- 
word of victory, with the greatest ease achieved 
a conquest. Controlling their movements in obe- 
dience to the commands of God, brought certain 
success. If, in the latter-day movements of the 
church, " one is to chase a thousand, and two to 
put ten thousand to flight," Christianity need 
wait for no further accessions to bring the world 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 141 

at once to the obedience of Christ. Shall we 
wait till the dying millions, in some miraculous 
manner, hear of the Gospel and its power to save, 
and come to our shores, or send us a deputation, 
as did the Flathead Indians, to visit their lands 
of darkness, before we shall calculate Providence 
has opened our way ? Spirit of Paul ! whither 
art thou fled ? Spirits of Wesley, and Coke, and 
Cox, return to thy church ! 

When we are urged to aggressiveness in the 
work of missions, shall we cry out, " A lion in 
the way ; we shall be devoured" ? Rather let us 
learn wisdom from the children of this world. 
When Bonaparte reached the foot of the Alps, 
he cried out to his engineer, who had made a 
survey, "Is the route practicable?" "Barely 
possible," was the reply. " March on ! " said the 
intrepid general. — When a deadly fire was pour- 
ing down from Jalapa's heights, and there was 
but one pass to the battery from whence issued 
the fiery stream, the hero of Mexico cried out, 
"Who will storm that battery and silence those 
guns?" A brave, at the head of a detachment, 
with an unfaltering voice, responded, " We will, 
sir ; " and the daring troops rushed madly through 
fire and smoke and shot, and captured the instru- 
ments of death. If such undaunted courage and 
perseverance could manifest itself when earthly 
glory was all the prize contended for, shall we, 



142 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

who aspire after an incorruptible crown, shrink 
and grow faint in view of danger or of death ? 
If so, we are not the soldiers of the cross that 
can be relied upon in the day of conflict with the 
powers of darkness. If men can leave home, and 
kindred, and native land, and enter upon long 
and perilous voyages, embarking their all in the 
enterprise, for the sake of a little shining dust, 
and we, for fear of the dangers attendant on a 
missionary tour, start back appalled, when the 
sympathies, and prayers, and support of the 
church, are all pledged in our behalf, how long 
will it be before the world will be convinced of 
our sincerity and earnestness in the conversion 
of mankind ; and, at this rate, how long will it 
be before the world is converted ? 

Among eight hundred millions who are desti- 
tute of the Gospel of Christ, at the very utmost 
there are not more than four thousand mission- 
aries, — that is, one for every two hundred thou- 
sand souls, — while in Christian lands there are 
thousands who profess to be called of Christ to 
preach the Gospel, who are without any congrega- 
tions, and scarcely preach once a month. Another 
spirit must surely come upon the church, con- 
straining these men to awake and start upon the 
errand of their Master, or centuries of darkness 
will yet hang upon the world. 

If, according to the opinion of an eminent mod- 



MISSION OF METHODISM. 143 

em divine and biblical scholar, carefully collated 
with the opinions of those of the highest reputa- 
tion in the department of biblical exegesis, the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty-six is to mark 
the downfall of Mahometanism and Popery, 
there will be a wonderful shaking among these 
dry bones in Christendom. And yet, the spirit 
of the Almighty can, and will, stir them into 
life. " Come from the four winds, breath, and 
breathe upon them ! " 

Progress is written, in glaring capitals, on the 
brow of the present age. The very earth shakes 
with the tread of the giant Enterprise. Ocean, 
earth, and air, constantly resound with the mighty 
and multitudinous results of science and art. 
Christianity is the mighty spring that has started 
these innumerable and wonderful agencies, and 
keeps them all in motion. Shall she fail in 
carrying on her legitimate line of operations, or 
in keeping up with the spirit she has so bounti- 
fully infused into all the departments of life? 
We pray not. If not in advance, at least in the 
wake, of all the enterprises her genius has begot- 
ten and fostered, we trust she will be found bear- 
ing the messages of mercy and salvation to all 
lands. Through that network of nerves, which 
soon shall bring all parts of the world into imme- 
diate intellectual connection, may she pour the 
streams of living truth, and on those paths of 



144 GENIUS AND MISSION OF METHODISM. 

iron, running in all directions, crossing and re- 
crossing each other, binding all together as mighty 
muscles, may nations be brought into closer con- 
tact, and the whole family of man, partaking of 
the spirit of Christianity, become one common 
brotherhood, that it may no longer be said : — 

" Lands intersected by a narrow frith 
Abhor each other ; 

Mountains interposed make enemies 
Of nations, which else. 
Like kindred drops, had mingled into one." 

In this great work of evangelical fraternization, 
Methodism has an important part to perform ere 
her mission is accomplished. May she prove 
true to her trust, and, having finished the work 
assigned her as a child of Providence raised up 
for a specific, purpose, may she mingle at last 
with that mighty multitude which no man can 
number, where all distinctions are forgotten, and 
names are unknown ! 












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